


You're Different

by jigoku-nozomi (NZM11497)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Emotional Manipulation, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, M/M, Victim Fights Back, a little mind-break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-01-07 08:02:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12228837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NZM11497/pseuds/jigoku-nozomi
Summary: Many victims have fallen prey to his ways, but what makes me so different?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I finally have some time, so naturally, I've been doing some writing! I know I've been posting stuff that I never usually post on here lately, but all that's about to change. I'll only post two more GazettE stories, then it's back to the good stuff!
> 
> I really wanted to write this story, so I'm glad I finally started. I've finished the first two chapters, and I'll be working on some more soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy! (^_^)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio and Kouta are watching the news; their friend, Sachiko, is still missing.

_“In other news, today marks week three of the disappearance of Sachiko Miyasaki. She was last seen at Sakuragaki High School, the school she attends. If you have any information of her possible whereabouts, please contact the number on the screen immediately.”_

It just seemed so bizarre to me that a girl that I know has been missing for this long. It only seemed like yesterday that I last spoke to her. We were paired up for a project in our psychology class, and the last conversation we had was about how to go about our research for the project. It was like one day she’s at school, and the next day, she never showed up. People just assumed she was sick, but then several days passed, and that’s when people started worrying.

It wasn’t until the following week that we found out that her parents had reported her missing. She isn’t the first major disappearance that has occurred though. There have been several in the past 6 months; Sachiko’s the fifth one so far. A lot of people are in a bit of panic because of the rate these disappearances are happening; me being one of those people.

“God, I hope they find her soon.”

My best friend, Kouta, comes from the kitchen and sits next to me on the couch. We’d usually hang out at his house after school until his father came home from work.

“So do I.”

“It’s not like her to just leave without letting anyone know first.”

He was right. Sachiko was a good student, and a very kind individual too; a bit reserved, but was still friendly to those around her. She was also the type of person to have everything planned out. She’s not the type of person to do things so recklessly.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“About what?” When those words leave Kouta’s mouth, I usually regret asking what his thought was.

“What if she was kidnapped?”

“Dude, don’t say that!”

“It makes sense, Yukio! You and I both know that she’d never run away from home or anything, and she doesn’t go out much at all. Think about it.”

“You’re crazy.”

“But, you can’t say that it’s not a possibility.”

I didn’t want to think about it anymore, so I sat in silence. Noticing how uncomfortable I was, he takes the remote to change the channel.

“I think I’m going to go home,” I say as I get up. I didn’t have the desire to stay here much longer anymore.

“You sure? Dad shouldn’t be much longer getting home. He’ll give you a ride.”

“I’ll be fine. I just want to get home.”

“At least let me walk with you. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be walking out this late by yourself.”

“Kouta, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you as soon as I get in the house.” I pick up my bag and head towards the door with Kouta right behind me.

“At least let me watch you turn the corner.” I could tell that he was extremely concerned for me; I don’t blame him.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Later.”

I walk out the door and Kouta stands on top of the stairs, making sure I was in his sights until the turn. I would turn back just to give him a look of reassurance, and before I knew it, I was turning the corner. We wave goodbye to one another and I make my way home. I had a bit of a walk ahead of me, so I tried my best to hurry.

I checked my phone for time every so often; 10:30, 10:32, 10:35. The way time was moving so slowly made me a bit anxious. My brisk walk gradually turned into a jog. I really wanted to get home as quickly as I could. I stopped checking the time as I began to move faster; I didn’t want my anxiety messing with me any more than this.

I take a shortcut through the park and decided that maybe it was a better idea to take the train home. It would take a bit longer, but at least I’d be in a public space just in case something did happen to me. At this point, I’m practically sprinting to the train station. Something within me was making me suspicious of everything around me. There was just a sinking feeling that I was being followed by something…or someone.

Finally, I make it to town and slowed down my pace a bit. There were a good amount of people out tonight, so I felt a little safer. I begin briskly walking once more, making a beeline in the direction of the train station. I take a look at everything and everyone around me just to make sure no one invaded my personal space. I made sure to always have my guard up.

After what seemed like eons, I finally make it to the train station. I run down the stairs, go through the gates, and waited for the train to come. I checked the schedule on my phone; thankfully, I didn’t have long to wait. There weren’t a lot of people waiting for the train, so at least I know the train won’t be crowded.

In no time at all, I hear the train make its way down the tracks. I take a few steps forward and the train slowly comes to the stop. The doors open, quickly make my way inside, and take the first seat I see. A few more people board the train and within moments, the train begins to move again.

I put my headphones on and begin playing some music to distract myself. I had a bit of a trip, but luckily, I don’t live that far from the station. I keep to myself for the whole trip; making sure not to look at anything else but my feet and the floor. I’d occassionally look at one of the other passengers, but not directly. However, there was this one couple that seemed a bit odd to me.

They looked like a typical couple, but there was something strange about them. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it was kind of creeping me out; especially the girl. I’ve noticed her stare at me since we’ve boarded the train and I’ve been uncomfortable since. She wore a blue coat, a black knit hat that hid her hair, and a mask that you’d usually wear if you were sick. I didn’t dare to make eye contact with her, so instead I moved down a couple of seats.

The dead silence on the train was unsettling. I’ve never been on the train this late at night before, and I don’t think I ever want to do this again. Suddenly, the creepy girl sneezed and it made a few people jump; me included. Naturally, I turn my head to her direction and I saw her boyfriend hand her a tissue. She just took it and faced forward. Instead of taking off the mask to wipe her nose, she wiped away tears instead. I wasn’t really sure about the situation she was in, but it made me feel sorry for her. But, that pity quickly turned into fear once her boyfriend turned to look my way. I immediately face forward, never looking back at that direction again.

After about an hour, the train comes to my stop. I spring up and stood by the door, waiting for it to open. For some reason, I sneak a look at the odd couple once more. The boyfriend had his arm around his lover and she never bothered to look up at me. A part of me wanted to see if she was okay; I had this sudden desire to help her get out of whatever situation she was in. But, I didn’t want to meddle into something that had nothing to do with me.

Finally, the train stops and I practically run out the doors. I go through the gates, rush up the stairs, and rush home as quickly as I could. In about 10 minutes, I finally make it home. I go through the front door and I see that my parents are still awake. It was nearing midnight, so I expected it. I see my mom talking on the phone and my dad comes up to me and places a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey there, kiddo. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I came home so late. Kouta’s dad was working overtime tonight.”

“You should’ve at least called us to tell us you were coming home so late.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll remember that for next time.” I walk past him to head upstairs.

“You going to bed?”

“Yeah, I’m really tired.” I overhear my mom talking on the phone; most likely talking to Kouta’s dad.

“Yes, he’s home now. Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. Goodbye.” She hangs up the phone and hugs me before I could walk past her. “Did you eat before you left?”

“Yeah. I’m just going to go to bed. Good night.”

“Okay. Good night, sweetheart.”

I make my way to my room, throw my bag onto the floor, and collapse on my bed. Before I make more people worry about me, I pick up the phone and call Kouta to tell him I’m home.

_“Hello?”_

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you I made it home.”

_“Sweet. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”_

“See you tomorrow.”

I hang up the phone and put it on the charger. I didn’t even feel like changing into my pajamas, so I got under my blankets, turned off the light, and tried to sleep. For some reason, I kept thinking back to Kouta’s theory. What if Sachiko _was_ kidnapped? What if it was too late to find her? It’s been said that after 72 hours, the chances of finding a missing person alive are slim to none. I wanted to have more hope that Sachiko would be brought home safe and sound, but a small part of me wasn’t all that sure…

I try my best to clear my mind, close my eyes, and try to get some rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio just barely makes it to school the next day, and he notices something odd about the classroom.

I overslept the next morning and was nearly late for school. I just barely made it to homeroom on time and I rush into my seat just as the bell rings. It appears as though I was the last to show up to class, but then I take a look at two empty seats by the window. One if the seats belonged to Sachiko; naturally, that one was empty. But it was shocking to me that the other seat was empty. Before I could think about it anymore, Kouta pulls his seat up next to mine.

“Do you think she’ll come to school today?”

“I’m not sure. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t.”

The girl in question was Megumi. Megumi is Sachiko’s best friend. They’ve known each other their whole lives; they’re practically inseparable. When Megumi heard of her disappearance, she was devastated. I can’t imagine the pain and stress she must be going through right now. There would be days she’d come to school with her usual optimism, but other days…

It hurt a little knowing that someone I’ve known to be a bright, bubbly girl in middle school become a shell of that person now. Megumi was usually the one out of the four of us to bring a smile to our faces during hard times. But who was going to be the one to bring a smile to her face now?

“Yukio, did you do the algebra homework?” Kouta asks me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, do you need it?”

“Just for a few questions. I’ll give it right back.”

“Alright.”

I hand him the homework and continue staring at the two empty desks. I take a look around at everyone else in the room as well. Why don’t they seemed concerned at all? Two seemingly popular students are missing; one of them being missing for almost a month now. I don’t know why, but it bothered me so much how everyone seemed so nonchalant about this. Was I the only one deeply concerned about them?!

“Yukio. Hey, Yukio!” Kouta had to raise his voice a little just to get my attention. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

It was a bold-face lie, but Kouta already knows how I feel about the situation. Suddenly, the classroom door opens and the room goes silent. All eyes were on the girl walking in the room. It was Megumi. She looked like she hasn’t slept in ages. She shuffles her way over to her desk as everyone else goes back to what they were doing.

“Jeez, she looks like hell. I’m surprised she even came to school today,” Kouta says as he hands me back the homework.

“Yeah.”

That was all I could say before I got up to go over to her. I go over to her desk and kneel down to her level. I didn’t dare take the seat in front of her.

“Hey, Megumi.”

She slowly lifts her head and looks at me with baggy, reddened eyes. “Hey.”

“How are you?” I had no idea why I even asked that. It was plainly obvious how she was, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“Could be better, to be honest.” Her voice was low and raspy. It was a complete contrast to the bright, warm voice I’ve known since the 6th grade.

“Have you heard anything new?”

She shakes her head, “Nothing new yet. Have you?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t. But, we can’t give up yet.”

She looked back down at the floor, and I could tell that she was losing her will to stay strong. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this, Yukio.”

“I understand, but you can’t give up now,” I say as I hold her hand in mine, trying to console her as best I can.

“It’s been three weeks, Yukio! _Three weeks!_ No one can find her, no one can get in touch with her! What else am I supposed to do?!”

The whole room falls into an eerie silence. Everyone looks over at our direction and finally, Megumi springs up and rushes out of the classroom. Just as she left, the bell for first period rings, but Kouta and I go after Megumi. She sprints into the girls’ bathroom, but neither of us really cared. We go inside and we hear her sobbing in the farthest stall.

“Megumi, it’s us,” Kouta stated as we approached the stall.

“You guys didn’t have to come in here,” she tried her best to speak through the sobs.

“But we wanted to, Megumi,” I tell her in a comforting tone. “We know how hard this is for you; we just want to help get you through this.”

She sits in silence, with the occasional sniffle here and there. Then Kouta said, “They’ll find her, Megumi. I know things may not look all that great right now, but they’ll find her. We just have to keep trying, okay?”

“We can’t give up now, Megumi,” I say as I move closer to the door. “If there was a time that Sachiko needs us the most, it’s now. We’ll find her.”

After a moment or two of silence, Megumi stands up and comes out of the stall. She looked at the two of us with a teary smile and held out her arms for a hug. Of course, we all gathered in a group hug and held each other for a bit.

“You guys have no idea how much I needed to hear this. Thank you.”

“No problem. It’ll be alright; don’t you worry,” Kouta told her.

“At least, not as much.” I knew for a fact that it was practically impossible for her to _not_ worry.

“Thanks, guys. I’ll try.” Kouta hands some tissue to her and she uses it to wipe her eyes. “Go back to the classroom; I’ll be there in a few minutes. Besides, I don’t want anyone seeing you two in here.”

“Roger that, madam.”

Kouta gives a little salute and we both head out of the bathroom. We stand outside the bathroom door, waiting for her to come out. After a few moments, she walks out looking a bit better than before and we all walk back to class.

Hours upon hours pass, and the school day was finally over. The three of us had to stay after for the school newspaper; Megumi was chief editor and she thought it would help distract her if we all had an impromptu meeting. No one seemed to mind; we all know what she’s been going through lately.

“Thank you guys for coming to this meeting today. I know it’s a bit sudden, but I figured we could get some work done since we have time.” It was a bit uplifting to see Megumi speak with a bit of confidence again. “Since today isn’t really a formal meeting, I’d just like to discuss any topics that you think would be interesting to put in next month’s issue. So, any suggestions?”

“How about we write about the new players that joined our soccer team? I heard that the coach specifically requested them for this season,” a student named Chiyo suggested.

“Oh, really? That would be interesting. Anything else?”

Kouta raised his hand, “Well, there is the school dance coming up, and the committee came to me with suggestions of themes. They thought that maybe we could put the poll somewhere in the paper so that everyone can vote.”

“Sounds good to me. Is anyone from the committee still in the building?”

“Uhh, I’m not sure. I could go check.”

“I’ll go,” I suggested. “I was planning on getting snacks for us anyway, so I’ll head there on my way over.”

“Okay then. While Yukio’s out, the rest of us can get to working on those suggestions we mentioned.”

As I take my leave, everyone goes to their respective spaces and gets to work. I walk over to the classroom that the committee is usually in and see a few people. I knock on the door and let myself in.

“Sorry to bother you guys, but Megumi wants you guys over in the other room to talk about themes for the school dance.”

“Oh, really? I thought you guys met on Thursdays,” Saito said.

“We do, but we’re having an impromptu meeting today, so feel free to head over there.”

“Okay, cool.”

I take my leave to go and get snacks for everyone. As I’m walking down the hallway, I get the sudden feeling that something was wrong. I look all around me and see that I’m the only one in the hallway, which shouldn’t be that odd to me. But as I reach the end of the hallway to leave the school, my legs stop moving and I become paralyzed in shock.

“Sachiko…”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was it her? Am I imaging things? I just look at the girl at the door who strongly resembled my friend. I walk a bit closer, but as I did, she took a step back.

“Sachiko, where have you been? Are you alright?!”

“Yukio…run,” she whispered to me. Her voice was shaky and unlike her own. She sounded cold and somber, which terrified me.

“What do you mean? Sachiko, come back with me; everyone misses you!”

“Yukio, please. Just run!” Her whispers became more urgent.

“Sachiko—”

“No!”

Before I could react to her scream, something hard hit me on the back of my head causing me to fall over. I try my best to remain conscious, but it was becoming more and more difficult with each passing moment. Sachiko’s shouts were fading in and out. Suddenly, they stop. I could feel myself getting carried someplace out of the school. I had no idea who was carrying me, but I could faintly hear them say something to Sachiko.

“Get in…fucking bi…such a bother…”

I’m put into the back of a car; that much I knew. Despite my efforts, I succumb to unconsciousness.

The last thing I heard was Sachiko telling me, “I’m sorry, Yukio…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio finally regains consciousness and meets the man responsible for Sachiko's disappearance.

“You think I didn’t notice what you tried to do?”

“No, I promise I wasn’t doing anything! I swear!”

Those yells were just loud enough to wake me up. I was on a cold, concrete floor in some dark basement. I could barely see anything in the room. I check my pocket for my phone, but it was missing. I scramble to get up in a panic, but it was difficult since I was handcuffed to a pole coming from the floor.

“Sachiko! Sachiko, are you alright?!” I call out to her. One of the voices coming from upstairs definitely belonged to her.

“Yukio!”

I hear the door open and see her rushing down to my side. He tightly held onto me and I held her in return with my free hand. We were both crying our eyes out in relief, but also in fear. I tried my best to stifle my cries and stay strong for her; I’m just glad she was alive.

Then, another person slowly walks down the stairs and stops near the bottom of them. A tall, intimidating man stood there, analyzing us; seemingly plotting what to do with us. He took a seat at the bottom of the stairs and stared at us with a sly grin on his face. I hold Sachiko closer to me and stared the man down.

“I’ll give you credit for trying to intimidate me, but it’s not very effective; especially since you were just crying your eyes out a moment ago.” His voice was smooth and calm. That just made things even more terrifying.

“What do you want from us? Why are you doing this?!” My fear gradually turned to anger at this monster.

He raised an eyebrow at me, “Why so angry, Yukio? You’re not hurt, are you?” He gets up and slowly makes his way over to us. “I thought you would’ve been more excited to see your friend alive and well.”

“Stay away, you son of a bitch!” I yelled as I pulled Sachiko in as close as I can. She starts yelling and crying even louder as he walked closer.

“Oh, Yukio. Sachiko and I have already become well acquainted. Haven’t we, Sachiko?” he asked as he placed a hand on her head.

I kick him in the shin as hard as I could, causing him to yell in pain. Suddenly, he yanks Sachiko away from me and placed his foot on my throat, placing as much pressure as he could.

“No, please! Leave him alone!” Sachiko pleaded.

He wasn’t paying her any attention. She hurdled towards him and tried to pull him off of me. She pulled, hit his arm, even tried biting him in attempts to get him off of me. I tried my best to fight back, but it was useless.

Finally, Sachiko yelled, “Hiro, please! Leave him alone!”

Then, he stopped. He put his foot back on the ground and backed away, pulling Sachiko back with him. He held her by the waist and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

“Tell your friend to behave, okay? I’ll be back down in a bit.”

He slowly walked back up the stairs, and once the door closed, Sachiko turned the light on and came back to me. All she could do was hang her head low and cry a little. I pull her in close to me and just held her.

“I’m so glad you’re alive, Sachiko. Everyone’s so worried about you.”

“I’m so sorry, Yukio. I didn’t mean to get you involved in this,” she spoke through sobs.

“Don’t apologize for anything, Sachiko. This isn’t your fault.”

“I wanted to tell you that it was me last night…”

“What do you mean?”

“Last night…on the train…”

Suddenly, my mind flashes back to the odd couple I saw on the way home last night. The girl with the blue coat and black knit hat. The look of desperation in her eyes…

“Sachiko…I…I didn’t know… I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with guilt and frustration towards myself. Why couldn’t I tell that was her in the first place?

“I know you didn’t know. It’s okay.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.”

We hold each other for a bit in silence. The only sounds that were heard were Sachiko’s light sobs and muffled noises that the monster named Hiro was making upstairs.

“Yukio?”

“Yeah?”

“How’s Megumi? And Kouta?”

I honestly didn’t know what to tell her, but I had to say something. “Well, they both miss you. Especially Megumi. Everyone’s been looking for you, non-stop.”

“Really?” she sounded a bit disheartened. “I’m surprised they still think I’m alive. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here…”

“Don’t talk like that, Sachiko! No one has given up on you, so don’t you give up on yourself.”

“Yukio?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to go home.” She buried her face into my neck and began crying again.

“We’re going to get you home, Sachiko. Don’t worry.” I had to remain strong for her sake. I was determined to get her out of this hell; she’s been here for far too long.

“He’s not going to let us leave, Yukio. He won’t let us leave.”

“It doesn’t matter whether or not he _lets_ us leave; we’re getting out of here.”

“Yukio, you don’t understand; the last person that was here…he wouldn’t let him leave. You know the guy…umm…that office worker.”

I remembered who she was talking about. Takeru Suzuki: age 31, an office worker for some company I can’t recall. He was the fourth disappearance; right before Sachiko. To this day, he’s still reported as missing, but I’m not sure if anyone’s still looking for him. But that begs the question…

“Do you know what happened to him?”

Sachiko didn’t say anything. She put her face in my neck again and cried even more. Just that alone tells me that if there still was a search going on for him, it was pointless. Immediately, I start thinking about the other victims; the first two victim were both women in their 20s. The first victim was a college student named Keiko. She was last seen at her school’s library. She was missing for about a month before her parents decided to drop the search.

The second victim disappeared a few days afterwards. Maiko was a waitress at a restaurant that my friends and I would go to often. She’s even waited on our table a few times, so we were pretty familiar with her. She’d been gone the longest; a whole two months of being missing. Police made the decision to end the search.

The third victim was a more mature woman. Mrs. Tanaka was a stay-at-home mother who was last seen at the grocery store with her child. The child was safe, but Mrs. Tanaka went missing in broad daylight, reports say. She was missing for about a month before the search was called off.

Then that’s when Mr. Suzuki went missing about a week after that. When Mr. Suzuki had been missing for a month, that’s when Sachiko disappeared. And I guess this is where it all led to. My only assumption was that Sachiko had seen Mr. Suzuki and knows what happened to him. Is this Hiro guy the man responsible for the other disappearances as well? It was scary to think about.

Suddenly, the door opens, and that monster makes his way back down to us. He was swinging a set of keys on his finger and came over to take off the handcuffs. Once he takes them off, he helps Sachiko up from the floor and offers to do the same for me. I smack his hand away and get up on my own accord.

He chuckled as he rubbed his hand, “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you? That’s funny, because that’s not how Sachiko described you at all.”

I look at her in surprise; I had no idea that she’d been talking about us to this dangerous man. Why would she do such a thing? She couldn’t look me in the eyes, most likely out of guilt. Instead, she headed back upstairs without saying a word.

“Are you hungry, Yukio? I made some sandwiches if you’d like some,” he says with that sly grin he had before. He turned around and gestured me to follow him upstairs. Then he tells me, “You might as well have some. You’re going to be here for a while.”

Just the thought of becoming another missing person brought nothing but fear in my mind. I had no choice; I need to find a way to get Sachiko and I out of here, and fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope everyone's enjoying this story. I'm having fun writing it! Feel free to let me know what you think of it so far. I know this is only chapter 3, but feedback is always welcome! (^-^)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro, Yukio, and Sachiko are all together upstairs when things start to take an unexpected turn.

The three of us sat at the dining table; Sachiko and the man named Hiro were eating the food he made. It was eerily quiet in the apartment that we were in. I look around the place; it seemed like a normal place to live in. It wasn’t completely messy, but it wasn’t completely neat either. And looking at the man to my right, he looked like a completely normal man. He had short, black hair, dressed himself properly; he didn’t appear to be a person who could do something like this.

“Are you not hungry, Yukio?” he asked in a calm manner.

“No, I’m not.”

It annoyed me whenever he says my name as if we were close. It made me even more agitated that he spoke so calmly as if this situation isn’t wrong. I look over to Sachiko and just watched her act so normally. I’m not sure exactly what he did to her to make her act like this, but that only made me more determined to get us out of here.

“You know, Yukio,” Hiro started to say, “Sachiko’s told me all about you and your other friends. It warms my heart to know that she has such good people to rely on.”

“Yeah, she does. And they all miss her very much.” I didn’t even try to hide my irritation.

“I’m sure they do. I’ve actually been thinking about letting her go home.”

The two of us look at him in desperation. I don’t think either one of us could believe what he said, but he said it.

“Really…? You’ll let me go home…?” Sachiko whispered in a tearful voice.

He looked into her eyes and chuckled, “I said I’ve been _thinking_ about it. I haven’t made any final decisions yet.”

“Look, why the hell did you even target her in the first place?! What did she do to deserve this?!” I couldn’t contain my anger any longer.

“She didn’t do anything wrong. I chose her out of pure boredom, really.” He takes a sip of his tea and continues on, “She’s young, pretty, very sweet. A complete contrast to poor Mr. Suzuki, unfortunately.”

As angry as I was towards him, I just had to know what happened to the others; if he was the one responsible for the other disappearances. “Is he alright? Mr. Suzuki?”

“Hmm? Oh, sure. He’s fine. He’s resting easy now, so there’s no need to worry about him anymore.”

“Is…is he dead? And the others? Are they dead too?”

He sat down his tea cup and gave me a serious look, “You sure do ask a lot of questions, Yukio. I’ll be glad to answer them sometime soon, but for now, you two sit here and relax for a bit.”

He gets up, takes our dishes, and heads to the kitchen. I move closer to Sachiko so that her and I can talk quietly amongst ourselves.

“Sachiko, listen to me; we need to think of a plan to get out of here.”

“But, didn’t you hear him? He said he was thinking of letting me go!” Her whispers sounded a bit excited.

“Yeah, I heard that. But, we have to find a way to get both of us out of here, okay? We need to think of something.”

“I can’t wait to go home and see my family and friends again! I just want to go home!”

“We will get home, okay? We just need to—”

Before I could say anything else, she springs up and goes over to Hiro like an excited child. She clings onto him and starts crying again.

“Look, you promised me! You promised me I could go home! Why can’t I go home?!”

“Sachiko, what are you doing?” I had no idea what she was on about, but something seemed off to me.

“Now, Sachiko, I’m aware of what I said,” Hiro said as he patted her head.

“Then, let me go home! I did what you said, so let me go home!”

“What the hell is going on, Sachiko?!” The things she was saying started making me suspicious for all the wrong reasons.

Hiro looked over to me with his usual calm demeanor, “Well Yukio,” he moved from Sachiko over to me, “I’m the type of person who grows tired of having the same thing for a long period of time. So naturally, I told Sachiko that if she found me a new playmate, then I would consider letting her go home. But…” He turned back to Sachiko.

“No, no! You told me you’d let me go home!” She had a sound of desperation in her voice.

“I never made that a final decision. I said I would _consider_ it.”

“Sachiko… Sachiko, he’s lying, right? Tell me he’s lying.” I found it extremely hard to believe that a dear friend of mine would do something like this. She was trying to warn me before I even got here; was it all an act?

“Yukio, listen to me… He told me that if I found someone else, I could go home. If I didn’t, I’d end up like Mr. Suzuki!” She begins sobbing, “I don’t want to die, Yukio! I just want to go home!”

“So, you just planned on leaving me here to take your place?! Are you out of your mind?! I don’t want to be here!” My anger towards Hiro went directly to Sachiko.

“Yukio, I’m so sorry! I just want to go home!”

“How could you do this?! I thought we were friends, Sachiko!”

“Please, Yukio! Just let me go home! I don’t want to be here anymore!”

I could feel my heart shatter with each passing moment. I knew she was in a desperate situation, but this was not the way to go about it. She was a smart girl; she could’ve figured something out, I’m sure.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect to witness something like this,” Hiro finally decided to speak. “Well, I can’t let both of you go. And now that I think about it… Who’s to say that neither one of you are going to go to the authorities once you leave?”

He walked away from the both of us and into the living room area. Sachiko and I stare each other down, tensions running at an all-time high. Here I was, trying to save the both of us, when in reality, she was only looking out for herself.

“Ah! I have an idea. Both of you, come here.”

Hiro beckoned the two of us to the living room and gestured us to sit face to face on the floor. He went into another room for a moment and came out with a deck of cards. I look at him in a bit of confusion, but Sachiko looked at those cards with immense fear.

“I want both of you to close your eyes for a few moments, okay? We’re going to play a little game.” He sat down on the floor with us and began going through the cards. We both look down and closed our eyes. “The game is simple: I’m going to pull out an ace and a joker. Then, both of you are going to choose a card. On the count of three, you’ll look at your cards and reveal them to one another. Whoever draws the ace gets to leave. Sounds fair?”

It was dead silent in the room. The sounds of him shuffling two dumb cards around was unnecessarily nerve-wracking. Finally, he stopped.

“Open your eyes.”

We did exactly that. He holds the cards out to us and the two of us hesitate to take one. We stare at each other for a moment, then as if acting out of bravery, Sachiko snatches the card closest to her. Hiro handed me my card and we placed them face down.

My mind was racing, my heart was pounding; I felt like I was going to faint. A part of me wanted to have the ace on my side… But, Sachiko’s been here for far too long. Everyone misses her back at home; we all want her to go home safe and sound. Even if that means I have to be her replacement.

“Alright, are you both ready?” We nod our heads. “Okay. One… Two… Three.”

We looked at one another for the last time and flipped our cards over. I was hesitant to look down, but Sachiko looked at her card and let out a piercing shriek. She hid her face in her hands and began sobbing. It wasn’t until I looked down to realize that her sobbing was a cry for joy. My stomach drops so low, and for a brief moment, I had forgotten how to breathe.

“Well, I didn’t see this coming. Congratulations, Sachiko. You may leave.”

As soon as those words left Hiro’s lips, Sachiko springs up and darts towards the door. Before leaving, she looks back at me and stares at me for a moment.

“Oh, Sachiko, wait a moment. You’re forgetting your phone.”

Hiro got up to get her phone from another room. It puzzled me a bit to see Sachiko still standing there; I thought she would’ve taken that opportunity to leave right away. But as soon as he went into the room, she gestures me to hurry to the door and leave with her. In that moment, my faith in her was restored; I just knew she wouldn’t be that selfish.

However, as soon as I got up, Hiro exited the room and made his way over to her. We both freeze where we stood. He walked up to her and handed over the phone. She took it with shaky hands and glanced over at me again.

“Before you leave, Sachiko, I have one last request.” Hiro’s calm tone was becoming more and more unsettling by the second.

“What is it…?” Neither one of us liked where this was going.

“May I have one last hug before you leave? It just pains me to let such a sweet girl go.”

Sachiko looked to me for an answer, but unfortunately, I didn’t have one. Without having the slightest clue what to do, she accepts his request and gives him one final hug. It seemed like such an innocent hug, but the tension in the room was making everything worse. They remained hugging for a bit, which made me extremely nervous. I wanted to say something so that she could leave as soon as possible. But, I suddenly become paralyzed with fear.

I see Hiro raise one of his hands and notices something off. My stomach drops once again and before anyone could have any time to react, Sachiko’s yell rang loud throughout the apartment. I rush over to the two and try my best to get the monster off of her. After a moment’s struggle, he finally relents and Sachiko falls forward onto the floor, the large kitchen knife sticking out of her back.

My body was shaking in rage and fear, my breathing became shallow, and I could feel my heart shattering in to a million pieces. She was going to be free. She had the chance to leave, but she stayed for me. She didn’t have to do this… She didn’t have to do this!

Then, to make matters worse, Hiro kneels next to me and says in his usual calm voice, “You know, she had every opportunity to leave. But instead, she stayed. Just for you. It was a noble thing she did… But, she can’t have things her way. And neither can you.”

He grabs me by the hair and drags me into another room. I try my best to break free and help Sachiko, but I couldn’t shake him. All I could do was shout and flail as the image of my friend’s lifeless body burns permanently into my mind.

“I’m so sorry, Sachiko…! Sachiko…!”

We enter the room and from then on, I knew that my hell was about to begin.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio finally gets a taste of what Hiro is capable of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I just want to apologize for this chapter taking so long to get posted. But, I was having serious writer's block and I just couldn't get my thoughts together. But thankfully, I was able to push through and get this done. I'm going to try and work on some more chapters and hopefully I'll post them in a more timely manner. But for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading! (^-^)

I was trying my best to fight this monster off of me, but it was to no avail. I was still in complete shock about what happened to Sachiko. In fact, I was in disbelief. Surely, there was still time to get her help! I just had to get this bastard off of me.

Unfortunately, he was much stronger than I was, and he slammed me onto the bed. He quickly got on top of me, wrapped one of his large hands around my neck, and squeezed as hard as he could. I pointlessly tried to fight him off of me as he was reaching over to the nightstand next to the bed.

“We can’t have you squirming too much, can we, Yukio?”

He pulled out a roll of black duct tape from the drawer and began to rip a long piece off. Once he got a long enough piece, he took my hands and bound them together. Then, he took a piece and placed it over my mouth to stifle any noises I was bound to make.

“Listen, Yukio; you need to stop making such a fuss and be a good boy for me, okay?”

He pinched my nose together and smirked as I struggled to breathe. I may not have been able to move my hands, but my feet were still flailing like crazy. My panicking had gotten to the point where I was becoming blinded by tears that were streaming down my face. Hiro’s face was becoming blurry and my mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour.

Finally, he allowed me to breathe again. I took the deepest breath I could. I became startled by his long, cold fingers gently caressing my cheek, wiping the tears that rolled down. His seemingly loving look was becoming more and more unsettling with each passing moment. It did nothing but send chills down my spine. Suddenly, he gets off of me and leaves the room. Confusion was added into the mix of emotions I was feeling right now. What the hell could he possibly be doing?

Then, after a moment or two, he comes back into the room with a bloody knife and my heart immediately starts racing. He walks towards me like a wild predator stalking his prey. His eyes stay locked on me as he gradually moves closer. Finally, he gets back on top of me and starts cutting my shirt with the bloody knife, cutting me in the process.

“The more you wiggle around, the more painful this is going to be for you, my dear,” he calmly said as he continued with his hack job.

I couldn’t help but to jerk around like a madman; he had a knife! Finally, he was done cutting my shirt and now my torso was exposed to him, cuts and all. It stung so much; I think it’s safe to assume that I was bleeding a bit. He laid the knife onto the pillow next to me and bent down to try and give me a kiss somewhere on my face.

I furiously jerk my head around trying to avoid those disgusting lips of his. But, I guess he was becoming frustrated with me because his large hands clamped down on my head and he held it still. He looked into my eyes with such an intimidating stare just to seemingly contradict the feeling with a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“I don’t wish to hurt you, my dear. Please try not to panic so much.”

He kisses my forehead once more and begins to move down. I seem him grab the knife from the corner of my eye and I tried my best to remain still. I was absolutely terrified of what he could do with that. But, a small part of me was beginning to calm down; I started to wonder how come he hadn’t done anything fatal to me at all. He had every opportunity to do so; I expected him to do _something_.

However, he continued to frighten me when he began moving his kisses down to my neck and then to my chest. Once he got there, he just looked up at me and stared for a bit. I couldn’t help but to stare back; what else was I supposed to do? Then, to my surprise, he began licking my bleeding wounds. It was like he didn’t care about the cuts at all, and suddenly my unease had returned ten-fold.

He kept licking me and would throw in a kiss here and there. What the hell even was this guy? Is this where he gets his sick pleasures from? All I could do was whimper and squirm in discomfort as he continued to violate me.

Finally, he stopped for a moment and looked up at me and a huge grin appeared on his face. He sat up and caressed my face once more and suddenly ripped the tape off of my mouth, causing me to yell loudly in pain. He gets off of me again and this time, he just stands by me. He looked down at me almost as if in a disappointed manner.

“Now, Yukio, you’re not being a very good boy right now. I’m not going to deal with this rowdy attitude you have. I’ll tell you what; I’m going to head out for a bit and give you some time to settle down, okay?”

He gives me a kiss on my forehead and made his leave. I didn’t really do much of anything as he left; I didn’t scream, didn’t try to break free. My mind is just full of jumbled up thoughts and emotions, I wasn’t sure how to feel or what to do. I began wondering why he was toying with me, what he was going to do with Sachiko’s body, and if and when he was going to find his next victim. I just laid there and cried at my own helplessness and my guilt over Sachiko’s death. I just found it pointless to try and fight it anymore. I just hope that when Hiro returns, he’ll put me out of my misery…

There was no way to tell how much time was passing me by; there wasn’t a clock anywhere in the room. It was hard to tell whether I’ve been here for two minutes or two hours. I’d become physically exhausted after putting all of my energy into panicking and screaming; it was getting harder and harder to stay awake. I realized that the tape wasn’t on my mouth anymore, so I could try to yell for help. But what if no one hears me? Sachiko was screaming pretty loud earlier ago, and no one came to see what the commotion was. I was beginning to lose hope, and eventually, I succumb to my exhaustion and close my eyes.

 

I had no idea how long I’d been asleep, let alone how I even managed to do so. Everything seemed so surreal to me at the moment; I had no sense of time, no idea where I was or how I even got here. Then, I felt a sudden painful sensation that snapped me back to reality. I couldn’t help but to scream out loud over the unknown.

“Damn, I didn’t think you’d wake up.”

I look in front of me to see Hiro topless and his pants unzipped. It didn’t take me long to realize what exactly he was doing. I got a sudden burst of energy and began kicking my legs, but that energy didn’t last long since he easily pinned my legs down.

“Come now, Yukio. You were so peaceful a moment ago; don’t act up on me now.” He said those words in a sort of endearing manner, making this situation even more unsettling. “Does it hurt? You can tell me.”

“Y-yes…” Of course it hurt! I never would’ve imagined in all of my life to be in this type of situation.

“Ah, I see. This is your first time with a man, isn’t it?” It was my “first time” with anyone, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of answering. However, I don’t think it mattered to him. “What’s with the shy look? Don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”

I looked at the wall and started crying; not out of fear, but out of embarrassment. I never thought that something significant as my virginity would be practically stolen by monster like him. If there was a moment that I wanted my end to come quickly, it’d be now.

I felt his hand go beneath my chin and he turned my face to look at him, “It’s okay, my dear. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I promise I’ll make this a special night for you, alright? Just take deep breaths and relax.”

There was absolutely no way I was going to relax in a situation like this. But before I could even react, he began moving at a gradual pace. The level of discomfort I was feeling was unbearable. I could feel myself tightening up because of the pain, but the look on his face told me that he was enjoying himself.

“Ahh… Does it feel good, Yukio?”

“It…hurts.” That’s all I was able to mutter during all this.

“But, you’ll get used to it soon; don’t worry.”

His movements remained at a gradual pace and his hands began touching other places on my body. One moved up and down my torso as the other gently held my face, his thumb easing its way into my mouth. I had the strong urge to bite down as hard as I could, but then I saw his other hand reach for something in his pocket. My mind began racing, trying to figure out what he could possibly have. Then, he pulled out a lighter and a box of cigarettes. He took one, lit it, then tossed the lighter and box to the side.

“Your skin’s so soft, my dear. So fair… It’s beautiful, really.”

One hand moves along my torso once more; the torso with many knicks and cuts that still seemed fresh. He takes the cigarette from his mouth, blows out some smoke, and begins to use my stomach as his personal ashtray. The feeling of hot ashes peppering onto my skin was beyond uncomfortable. It didn’t help that he was still inside of me, moving his hips at an agonizingly slow pace.

“You look a bit pained, my dear. Do you want me to stop?” It was as if he wasn’t trying to hide his condescending tone.

“Please… Stop…” I quietly begged.

He lets out a seemingly frustrated sigh, “Okay, fine. But you’re no fun, you know that?” he said as he disposed of more ashes on my stomach. He remained inside of me, however. “You know, it’s not as bad as you’re making it seem to be. You just need to relax, my dear.”

“I can’t…” As soon as the words left my lips, more tears began to fall. He was just being still, and I was still in pain.

One of his hands touched my face and his thumb began wiping the tears away, “I’m trying to be as gentle as I can, my dear. Maybe you just need more exposure to it; actually get into it _properly_.”

“What…?”

Before I could say anything else, he puts his cigarette out on my stomach, lifted my legs, and thrust his hips as hard as could. Naturally, I let out a scream only to have it be muffled by his lips. He forces his tongue down my throat and continued giving hard thrusts. His movements gradually became faster making it even more painful for me. I couldn’t do anything to fight back; my hands were tied, he held onto my legs. I was completely defenseless. All I could do was whimper in fear and just let it happen to me.

Finally, he removed his lips from mine and said, “You’re such a crybaby. It’s adorable.”

He gave a little chuckle and continued his assault. He just stared down at me with dreamy eyes and smiled. I tried my best to look away, but he always made me look at him. A part of me thought that he wanted me to acknowledge how helpless I was and that he was the cause of that feeling.

The speed of his movements increased once more and he put more strength into his thrusts. I could feel him go deeper and deeper inside, and I never felt more nauseated. Suddenly, I feel his hand on a certain part of my body that I was dreading he’d go to. He had a firm grip on it and began vigorously moving his hand up and down.

“It’s okay, my dear. You can yell out as loud as you want. I want to hear your voice.”

I guess he had heard the moans I tried so hard to hide. I bit down on my bottom lip as hard as I could; I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing me. It’s not like I actually enjoyed any of this; it was almost like an instinct to make such noises. But a part of me thought that he was aware of it, and that only made him enjoy it even more.

His hand moved as fast as his hips were at this point, making it even harder for me to keep a clear mind. I could feel my body become more and more tense with each passing moment; I wasn’t sure how much longer I could endure. He bends down and kisses me again, this time a bit more gently. I didn’t try to resist this time; there was no point to anymore.

“You’re such a good boy, Yukio. You’re so good…” he whispered into my ear. Just feeling his hot breath on my skin made me shudder in disgust.

He sits back up and starts slowing down his movements a bit. I prayed to any god that would listen to let this be over soon. His hand still had a firm grip on me, but it was moving a bit slower. His thumb would trace circles on the tip as if it was begging for something to happen. It’s been a close call a couple of times, but I was determined to hold off. Although, I wasn’t sure how much longer I can keep doing this. The look on Hiro’s face told me that he knew he could get what he wanted if he kept being persistent.

“There’s no point in fighting it, Yukio. It’s alright; just cum whenever you’d like.”

He was right; there was no point in fighting anymore. I was physically exhausted from all of this, and I just wanted it to end as soon as possible. Completely throwing away any shame I had left, I gave in to the temptation and did exactly as he said. I let out a moan that was a mixture of pleasure, pain, and embarrassment. I could feel myself becoming filthy in my own shame, and I couldn’t help but to cry a little.

“Good boy, Yukio. Just for that, you get a little reward.”

Finally, he pulled himself out of me and got on top of me. He pulls my hair and holds my head back with one hand and pries my mouth open with the other.

“Keep your mouth open. And you better not waste a single drop, okay?”

The hand that was on my mouth moved to his lower half. I closed my eyes as tightly as I could because I didn’t want to see what was about to happen. Then suddenly, I hear him let out a bit of a low growl and something bitter enters my mouth. Instinctively, I gagged, but he slapped my face pretty hard in response. That weird, disgusting _stuff_ just kept going into my mouth and some actually spilled out from me nearly vomiting.

It finally stopped and he forced my mouth shut. He then plugs my nose so that I had no choice but to swallow whatever went into my mouth so that I could breathe again. I tried my best to resist, but the longer I had it in my mouth, the more disgusting it became. Reluctantly, I swallowed it all and took a deep breath. He lets go of my nose and gets off of me. He gives me a kiss on my forehead and makes his leave.

As soon as he closed the door, I completely break down into tears. I couldn’t see how I looked, but I did know for a fact that all I am now is just a filthy, broken, and defeated shell of who I once was. There was nothing I wanted more in this moment was for him to come back and put me out of my misery. After all of this, I refuse to keep my will to live. My friend, dignity, and innocence was ripped from me because of my weakness, and I didn’t want to live with the guilt of knowing that…


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio has finished enduring Hiro's sadism, and now he experiences a different side of him.

I was lying in the bed, still tied up and exhausted. It must have been about five minutes, I’m not sure. But, I was a bit startled by the sound of running water coming from what I assumed was the bathroom. It sounded like he was drawing up a bath.

After a moment or so, Hiro comes back into the room and moves towards me. He picks up the knife from earlier and proceeds to cut the duct tape off of my wrists. He didn’t even try to be careful since he managed to cut me a bit. Once the tape was off, I immediately gotten into the fetal position to try and protect myself.

I could hear Hiro let out a sigh, “Are you going to get up? I drew a bath for you.”

I looked back at him in shock; I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly the first time. He just gave me a look of confusion, as if he was surprised at my reaction.

“The water’s going to get cold. Are you going to go on your own or do I have to carry you myself?”

I had no idea where all of this was coming from, but I didn’t want him to lay another finger on me. I slowly get up from the bed and shuffled my way to the door. Before I could leave the room, I feel something drape over me. I look back and see that Hiro had put a towel on me and pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

I quickly make my way to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. It wasn’t a huge bathroom; the fact that it was a bit cramped made me a bit nervous. I place the towel on the floor and eased into the bathtub. As much as I wanted to find the bath relaxing, the heat just made the pain even more unbearable.

I sink into the water a bit until I was neck deep. I sat like this for a few moments and sat back up. I look down into the water and nearly screamed in fright; the water was turning into a faint pink. I didn’t think the cuts on my chest and wrists were that bad to cause this, but then I tried to find the source of where the blood was coming from. I look towards my legs and realize the cause. I hide my face in the palms of my hands in total shame.

Then, there was a knock on the door. “Yukio, I’m coming in.”

The door opens and in comes Hiro. I didn’t bother looking at him as he entered; I didn’t want this monster anywhere near me. I hear him bring the stool that was in here closer to the tub and he takes a seat next to me. I could feel his gaze on me, staring me down in his mockingly affectionate demeanor.

“Aren’t you going to wash?” he asks. I just sit in silence, face still hidden. “Giving me the silent treatment, huh? You know, I’m actually trying to help you, so why are you being so difficult?”

I finally look at him, seething with rage. “Help me? You’re trying to _help_ me? Are you serious?!” I furiously splash water in his direction to try and get him away from me, but he just sat there; still being calm and collected.

“Are you done?” I can’t believe after all of this, he had the nerve to talk to me as if I were a toddler.

“Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do to deserve this?! Why did you kill Sachiko?!” I had plenty more questions, but those were the only ones I could bother concerning myself with at the moment.

“You truly are an inquisitive person, my dear. But, speaking with such hostility won’t get you anywhere with me. Now, if you’re not going to wash yourself, I guess I’ll do it for you.”

“Don’t touch me!”

I splash more water on him and try my best to fight back. However, it was useless. He grabbed my hair and banged my head against the wall. Suddenly, I feel something cold and sharp slash the under of my chin. I couldn’t help but to scream in pain. I look back at him and saw that his seemingly friendly smile had completely disappeared. His eyes were cold and his whole demeanor had become intimidating.

“Didn’t I tell you that I wasn’t dealing with your shit tonight? You just got here, Yukio. It’d be a real shame if you left just as quickly.”

He placed the knife on the tub and turned to grab a washcloth from behind him. He dipped it into the water and gave it to me; I guess to hold it on the cut he gave me.

“I’ll be back, okay? I’m going to get the first aid kit.”

His affectionate demeanor had quickly returned and he gives me a kiss on my forehead before he left. It was _terrifying_ how quickly Hiro’s mood seemed to change. I had no idea what to expect from him; this man could go from being caring and affectionate to cold and sadistic in seconds. It made me wonder how all the other victims dealt with it; it made me wonder how Sachiko was able to endure it…

After a minute or so, he comes back with the first aid. He sits back down next to me and gestures me to move my hand from my wound. He takes another rag and pours some sort of liquid onto it, I’m guessing peroxide, and he places it on my wound. It stung like hell since he put so much on it, but I don’t think he cared. He was just trying to _help_ …

“I’ll put some bandages on after we get you cleaned up, alright? Just hold onto that for me.”

I hold the washcloth and just looked forward. He takes some body soap and begins to scrub my body with the loofa that was near the tub. This was just degrading; having to be bathed like a little child by someone like him. It was hard to keep myself from shaking with anger.

What made me even angrier was how caring he appeared to be. He was washing my body as gently as he could, as if he weren’t trying to hurt me more than he already did. He even started humming as if everything was just fine. It made me sick how obviously fake he was being. I think he knew he could get rid of my anytime he wanted; he was just trying to make me have a false sense of security.

“Move your hand for a moment.” I did as he said and he took a look at the cut under my chin. It wasn’t bleeding as much as it was initially, but there was still some coming out. “Hmm… I’m not sure if you’re going to need stitches or not. It doesn’t look that bad to me. What do you think?”

He got up and walked over to the sink and grabbed a hand mirror and handed it to me. I take it with shaky hands because I didn’t know what to expect when I look at my reflection. I slowly move the mirror in front of my face and took a good look at my reflection and tried my best to hold back the tears. I looked absolutely exhausted and broken; a complete contrast to the reflection I saw earlier this morning before I left for school.

“I don’t think you need stitches. I think the bandages should be enough. You want to finish cleaning up or do you want me to do it?”

I set the mirror down and look to the wall, “I don’t care what you do anymore…”

“Oh… Okay then. It won’t be much longer then, I promise.”

He proceeds to wash the rest of my body. My arms, back, chest, legs, hair; there no longer was a place that this monster _didn’t_ touch. After some time, he told me to wait in the tub until he got another towel; the one he handed me before got wet from me splashing around earlier. Once he came back, he gestured me to stand up and then wrapped the towel around me. We walked out together and he led me back into his bedroom. I sat down on the bed as he walked over to his closet.

“I’ll have to go and get you some clothes tomorrow. I’ll try to go on my work break tomorrow. Or I could take half the day off and come pick you up. Which would you prefer?”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” I didn’t want to talk to him anymore than I have to.

“Oh, come now. Don’t be one of _those_ people.”

“What do you mean _those_ type of people?”

“You know the type I’m talking about; whenever someone asks you to make a decision and you decide to be unnecessarily indifferent. Just pick one; I’m fine with either one.”

I didn’t want to “just pick one.” I wanted to be left alone. But one thing did make me curious. “Where do you work?”

“Hmm? Oh, nowhere special. I’m just a typical office worker. Why? Would you like to see where I work?”

I was a bit taken aback by his suggestion. I didn’t think he’d even let me out of the house. Didn’t he know how risky that could be?

“You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to.”

“Are you sure I can come?”

“Sure you can.” He walks over to me and hands me a large shirt and a pair of underpants. “If you plan on coming with me, you should probably try to get some sleep now; we have to wake up pretty early. But, if you don’t want to come with me, you can just sleep in. I’ll just take a half day and pick you up, okay?”

“Okay…”

I put on the underwear and sat back on the bed. Hiro left the room again and came back moments later with the first aid kit. He sat next to me and pulled out some bandages. He cleaned up my cuts again and began wrapping them up.

“Hopefully, these cuts will heal soon. Be sure to change these bandages often, okay? Don’t want you getting an infection or anything.”

After finishing up, he helps me put the shirt on, pulls the sheet off the bed a bit, and gestured me to lie down. Once I did so, he tucked me in and sat in the bed next to me for a moment.

“How are you feeling?” he asked in a loving manner.

“I’m tired…” I honestly replied. There was nothing else to say.

“Then you should get some rest, my dear. I’ll sleep on the couch tonight, if that’ll make you more comfortable.”

He kisses me on my forehead, stares at me for a moment, and made his leave. Before walking out the door, he takes one last look at me and smiled. He turns off the light and closes the door behind him.

Now, it was just me in the room. It was the first time I was ever truly alone in this place. I just lied there, staring at the ceiling. Who knows how long I was going to be here for? Who knows if I’ll ever even make it out of here alive? As much as I wanted to try and sleep, all of these questions remained on my mind. It’s such a scary thought to think about; whether or not my end was coming sooner that I’d ever expect it…


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio finds himself to be home alone and uses this time to explore.

It took me a bit to actually open my eyes after being half-asleep for most of the night. I tried my best fall asleep, but I just couldn’t do it. I shield my eyes from the blinding sun and slowly sat up in the bed. I had no idea what time it was, so I wasn’t sure if Hiro was still in the house or not.

I get out of bed and make my way to the living room. I get there and see that he’s nowhere to be found. I take it he went to work without me. I wasn’t really sure if that was a good thing, but I wasn’t going to complain. It just gave me time to try and get my thoughts straight.

I sat down on the couch and turned on the television. I immediately turned to the news channel to see if someone had reported me missing. Surely enough, I see my face on the television screen.

_“Breaking news: Another person has been reported missing this week. 16 year old, Yukio Kamiya, was reported missing last night. Witnesses say that he was last seen at his school, Sakuragaki High School; the same school that 16 year old, Sachiko Miyasaki, attends. While the search for Sachiko is still ongoing, authorities are planning to begin the search for Yukio as well. If you have any information of the whereabouts of either victims, please call the number on your screen immediately.”_

I had to turn off the television as soon as they put Sachiko’s photo on the screen. The memory of her bleeding out on the floor still burned fresh into my mind. Her screams and cries rang throughout my dreams last night; this was certainly going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

I had no idea what to do with myself until Hiro came home. I took some time to walk around the house to check out the other rooms. I couldn’t find a phone anywhere, so I couldn’t call the police. I was able to find a clock, but it appeared to be broken. What was the point of having one around if you’re not going to be bothered fixing it?

I had no idea where he hid my phone, so there wasn’t much to do about that. My apprehensions about being in this place was starting to turn into boredom. I just sat back down on the couch and started channel surfing. The fact that I was just treating this situation so lightly was a bit unsettling for me, but what else could I do about it?

More boredom takes over and I’m up walking around again. I take an even deeper look into Hiro’s bedroom. It was pretty plain to say the least; a full-sized mattress with blue covers, a nightstand on each side of the bed. One had a bunch of envelopes on it; I assumed it was junk mail. The other had a photo frame. I take a look to see if there was a photo in there, and sure enough, there was.

It was Hiro with an older man and woman. I assume that these were his parents. In the picture, they all seemed to be at the aquarium. They looked happy; Hiro’s usual smile was a bit bigger in the picture. Somehow, it made him look…

I shudder at the thought I was having and quickly set the picture face down. I didn’t want to become too comfortable with him or this place. I walk around some more and made my way to his closet. I open it up and it seemed like a normal wardrobe for a man like him. A couple of dress shirts and pants to match, some T-shirts and jeans; just looking at how seemingly “normal” everything appears to be makes it hard to believe that he was capable of being the cause of all the chaos that’s happened for the past six months.

I walk out the room and head down to the basement; the first room I was ever in when I was brought here. It was a bit chilly when I opened the door, so I ran to Hiro’s closet and grabbed a jacket. After that, I slowly make my way downstairs. Chills rushed down my spine with each step I took, and it wasn’t because of the cold. I was fully downstairs now and I felt around for a light switch. Once I found it, the lights turned on to reveal how creepy the basement looked.

The gray walls with paint chipping off, the boxes and coolers all over the place; it horrified me to even think what was possibly in them. Then, I saw a huge freezer. Immediately, my mind thinks to the worse-case scenario; what if Sachiko was in there? I didn’t want to find her in there…but, how else am I going to have some closure about everything?

I slowly walk over to the freezer and become paralyzed with anxiety as soon as I appear in front of it. I place my shaky hands on the door and they stay there for a bit. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to find her in this freezer, but if I don’t look now, I’ll never know where she might be.

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and quickly open the freezer door. My eyes remain closed for a moment; I wasn’t too sure if I should open them. But, I gather the courage and I open one eye to take a look. Then, my stomach immediately dropped when I saw that there was nothing but food in the freezer. I didn’t know whether or not to be relieved to not find Sachiko in there.

I close the freezer and backed away from it. A part of me was sure that this is where he would put her body. Where else could he have taken her? Was she where all the other victims were? But, where the hell were they?! This just made me fear Hiro even more; how was he able to hide _five_ bodies and have no one find any trace of them? How smart was this man?

I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I hurriedly stumble back upstairs, never looking back. I get back upstairs and slam the door behind me, sliding down onto the floor in tears. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I just want to go home. I just want to go home!

Suddenly, I hear the door open. I look to that direction and see Hiro walk in. He still had that calm smile as always.

“What are you doing over there?” he asked as he made his way over to me. He comes over and kneels to my level, pushing my hair behind my ear. “Is something the matter?”

I smack his hand and scurry away. I didn’t want this man anywhere near me. Of course, he followed me to where I was, practically cornering me. Even though the way he was approaching me wasn’t intimidating, I couldn’t help but to feel just that.

“Where is she?! Where did you take her?!” I couldn’t help but to ask. If I were to die in this moment, the least he could do was tell me where she was.

“What are you on about? Who is ‘she’?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard come from his mouth. How dare he act ignorant of what he’d done to her?!

“You son of a bitch!”

That was the last thing I said before charging straight to him. I was able to knock him down, and once I did, I start wildly throwing punches as hard I could. I wanted to try and hurt him as much as he hurt me; as much as he hurt Sachiko. I punched and scratched; I even bit the arm he was using to try and defend himself.

Even during my blind rage, I couldn’t help but to slowly bring myself to a pause. Something about all of this struck me as odd; why wasn’t he fighting back? He certainly could’ve overpowered me at any moment. But he didn’t…

He moves his hands away from his face and looks up at me with a scratched up face and a busted lip, “Are you done?”

Even after basically being assaulted, he takes everything in stride as if it weren’t a big deal. It’s as if _nothing_ in the world could ever faze him. I get off the bastard and quickly walk away towards the bedroom. I hear him get up and walk behind me.

“I’ll give you credit, Yukio; you know how to throw one hell of a right hook.”

“Shut up.” Any word that came from his mouth was beyond irritating at this point.

“Oh, come now.” I feel him wrap his arms around me from behind. I try to wriggle free, but he was holding onto me pretty tightly. “It was a compliment. A thank you would’ve been nice.”

“Get the hell off of me!”

I give him a hard elbow in the ribs, causing him to stumble back a bit. I bolt towards the door and tried to make a run for it. However, I feel his large hand grab my arm and pull me back. Then, I felt a sudden, painful shocking sensation and collapse onto the floor. I couldn’t move my body at all and the pain was unbearable. Then I see Hiro stand over me, waving something black and rectangular in my face.

“You like my new toy? I was going to surprise you with it tonight, but…” He gave a seemingly frustrated sigh as he crouched down to me, “I guess I still have to get your rowdiness, huh? You’re such a difficult boy, my dear.”

I see the sparks come from the black rectangle and I feel the shocking sensation once more before becoming unconscious.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio and Hiro go out to the mall for some clothes shopping.

I had no idea how long I was unconscious for, but surprisingly, it was the sound of traffic that woke me up. I look around and I notice I was in a car and see Hiro in the driver’s seat. I look down at myself and noticed that I was clothed and my bandages had been changed. I had on a baseball cap and a large scarf that covered the bottom half of my face.

“Oh, you’re finally awake?” he asked in a cheery tone.

“Where are we going?” That’s the first thing I wanted to know before anything else.

“I told you we’re going clothes shopping. I would’ve taken you earlier, but I didn’t want to drag you out of bed. And besides, I was really busy at work today; I had to practically _beg_ my boss to let me take the rest of the day off.”

He was seriously taking me out in public. This guy was either incredibly stupid or there was something he knew that I didn’t. Either way, all I could do was sit in the car with him until we got to our destination. Judging from what part of town we were in, he was headed to the mall.

“Oh, I meant to ask you this earlier. You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“No, I’m not. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m trying to decide what to make for dinner, and I wasn’t sure if there was anything I needed to stay away from. But, looks like I have nothing to worry about.” He looks over to me and gives me a smile. His very presence was revolting to me.

After some time, we make it to the mall. As we walk over, he thought it was a good idea to try and put his arm around me. I move to the side, but he yanks me closer to him.

“Don’t think I won’t do anything to you in public. You better behave, my dear,” he whispers in a serious tone.

There was nothing I could do at that point. I let him put his arm around me and we walk inside together. There’s usually a lot of people here, and today was no exception. We walked around for a bit before we actually went into a store. I look around at the seemingly hundreds of people, trying to make eye contact with someone in hopes they’ll notice something off about the two of us. Unfortunately, no one seemed to care…

We get to some department store and head to the clothes section. It was a pretty big store; it had all sorts of things inside. Clothes, electronics, toys; and it had just as many people inside as well. I was so tempted yell out to someone or run and find help, but Hiro’s arm was tightly wrapped around me. As much as I wanted to find help, I just felt completely powerless.

When we arrived at the clothes section, Hiro says to me “I’m going to go look for some things for myself. Meet me at the front of the store when you’re done, okay?”

“Alright.”

I was a bit surprised when he left me by myself. Why would he take his eyes off of me, even for a second? I didn’t put much more thought into it and went on to find some clothes. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular; I just wanted to get out of _his_ clothes. I picked out a couple of shirts and two pairs of pants; I wasn’t sure how much money he intended to spend.

After choosing my clothes, I make my way to the front of the store near the cashier’s counter. Given how quickly I had finished, I wasn’t sure how long I had to wait for him. I felt so awkward just standing around looking lost. And I guess someone else noticed my awkwardness.

“Do you need some help?” an employee came over and asked me.

“Oh, uhh… No, thank you.” I wasn’t sure if her being around me was a good idea.

“Are you sure? Are you waiting for someone?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you.”

“Okay.” I think she wasn’t sure if she should’ve walked away from me, but she slowly made her way back to where she was.

“Wait…!” The word just slipped from my mouth before I could even stop myself.

“Yes?” She came back towards me.

_“Damn it… Why did I say that?”_ I take a look around and try to find Hiro. I needed him to hurry up and get over here. “I…uhh…”

“Yuu,” Hiro finally comes to the front of the store. Almost instinctively, I walk over and hide behind him. He looks over to the store employee, “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, I was just asking him if he needed help with anything.”

“Ah, I see. Well, he was just waiting for me to come back. But, thank you though.”

He wraps his arm around me once more and we walk over to the cash register. For some reason, in that moment, I was actually a bit comforted by Hiro coming to my “rescue.” I was never really a fan of being left alone in public. After paying for our stuff, we head over to the food court to grab something to eat. It was still around lunchtime, so we were going to sit here for a bit.

“Is there anything in particular you want to eat? There’s McDonald’s, pizza; what do you want?”

“Pizza’s fine, thank you.” I sit there and look through the bags because I had nothing else better to do.

“Do you want anything on it?”

“No, thank you. Plain is fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

He gives me a peck on the top of my head and began to walk away. I was left to sit by myself, watching over our things. It was one of the most awkward situations I was put in. The situation that I’m in with Hiro right now may be bad, but being left alone in public isn’t favorable either.

Having all these people around was making me uncomfortable. I had to try my best to distract myself. I looked within one of the bags and found a random red ball. It was small, so I could play with it. I took it out of the bag and started bouncing it near my feet. It took my mind off of what was going on around me for a bit.

Then, just my luck, the ball started bouncing away from me. Of course, I got up to go and get it, but someone else had beaten me to it. The ball hit someone’s foot and once that person turned around to pick it up, it was as if my soul had left my body when I saw who it was.

“Yukio?” It was my homeroom teacher, Mr. Abe. The way he looked at me made me a bit nervous. “Yukio, is that you?”

“Mr. Abe… What are you doing here?”

“I came to do some shopping. But, are you alright? I saw the news earlier today.”

“I’m fine…” I immediately look behind me to see if Hiro had returned to the table; he wasn’t there yet.

“Do your parents know you’re here?”

“Uhh…” I keep looking behind me just in case Hiro was there.

“Is something the matter, Yukio? Why do you keep looking back?”

“I don’t know…” I look back one more time… He was back at the table, not even looking in my direction. Surely, he must’ve seen me with Mr. Abe.

“Well, maybe we should get you back home. Everyone’s worried sick about you.”

“Wait!” I nearly shouted; why wasn’t Hiro doing anything?! Was he really going to let me go with him?

“What’s the matter?”

I just stare at Hiro, waiting for some type of response. Nothing happens; he just sits there on his phone and eating pizza.

I finally look back at Mr. Abe, “Nothing. Take me home… Please.”

“Okay.”

He pats my shoulder to try and give me some sort of reassurance that things were going to be okay. Was I really going to go home? Was all of the torture really going to be over? It all seemed too good to be true, but I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to go home. As the two of us walk away, I take one last look at Hiro. He still paid me no attention at all. I didn’t want to think on it any more than this. I walk out of the mall with Mr. Abe and we make our way home.

After driving around for a bit, we finally make it back home. I couldn’t stop shaking the whole ride here. We get out of the car and he walks me inside the building. We go a bit down the first floor hallway and just wander.

“Which one is your apartment?” Mr. Abe asks.

“Uhh… Well, I just realized that I forgot my key, and my parents aren’t home to let me in.”

“Ah, okay. Well, isn’t there someone who has a spare? Aah!”

Mr. Abe falls face first onto the floor. Hiro took his Taser with him on our outing; I had noticed it inside the shopping bag from earlier. He quickly tosses me the keys to his apartment.

“4A; hurry up and open the door; I think I heard someone coming.”

I rush over to 4A and scramble to get the door open. Once it was open, Hiro gestured me to grab Mr. Abe’s hands as he grabbed his feet and helped carry him inside. As soon as everyone was in, Hiro slammed the door shut and locked it. He ushers me into the bedroom and gave me a dead serious look.

“Stay in here until I come and get you. Sit on the bed and don’t make a fucking sound, do you understand me? Lock the door behind you.”

I nod my head and he shuts the door. I did as he said and hurry over to the bed. I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I had the perfect opportunity to go home, but somehow… Somehow, my mind led me here… Now, Mr. Abe was in danger, and all I could do was sit here and wait.

_“First Sachiko, now Mr. Abe… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!”_

I hide my face in the palms of my hands and cry out my guilt and self-frustration until Hiro came to get me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Feel free to let me know what you think of it so far! Feedback is always welcome! (^-^)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio has a difficult choice to make when Hiro confronts him and Mr. Abe.

I was crying so much that I ended up falling asleep. All that worrying made me exhausted and I had no idea what else to do. Then, I was woken up by a knock on the door. I immediately got up and unlocked the door. Of course, Hiro was on the other side. He greeted me with his usual gentle smile.

“How are you feeling, my dear?” he asked as he began caressing my cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’m fine… Is Mr. Abe okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine.” He leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek. Then, he pressed his lips on my ear and whispered something that sent chills down my spine, “But, I can’t say the same for you.”

He grabs me by my hair and drags me down to the basement. I struggled a little bit, but not much; I knew at this point that it was practically useless to try and fight him off. Once we get downstairs, he lets me go and turns on the light. I nearly yelled in horror after seeing the condition that Mr. Abe was in.

He was handcuffed to the same pipe that I was when I first woke up here. His face was beaten and a bit bloody; he was bleeding from his nose and mouth and he had a black eye. He was also shirtless and there were a few bruises on his torso.

“Yukio! Yukio, are you alright?!” Even after enduring a beating from Hiro, he was still more concerned with my safety.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I turn my attention to Hiro, “What did you do to him?!”

The response that I got from him was a hard slap in the face. “It’s your fault he’s even here. Who told you to go through my things in the first place?” He spoke with such a cold and stern tone that I immediately fell silent. “Fucking brat.”

As long as I’ve been here, this is the first time that I think I’ve actually notice him being upset with me. He just had an angry feeling about him, and it was a bit intimidating. He shoves me out of the way and walks over to Mr. Abe. He crouches to his level and slaps his face a bit.

“And you, old man. Did you really think it was a good idea to mess with things that don’t belong to you?”

“What on earth are you talking about?! Get away from me! Yukio, get out of here and go find help!”

“Yukio is going to stand there and not move one step.” He turned his head a bit to see if I was still standing there. Of course, I hadn’t moved. “Good boy.”

“You bastard, what have you done to him?!” He tried to kick him, but Hiro was just a tad bit too far from him.

“God, you’re so annoying. Will you quit yelling? You’re giving me a headache.”

“Yukio, please! Go find some help! Just go!”

“Come here, Yukio.”

Almost instinctively, I go over to where Hiro was. He stood up and pushed me onto my hands and knees. He kneels down and urges me to move closer to Mr. Abe. I do exactly that and try my best to look at everything else but Mr. Abe directly in the eyes.

“You know what I want you to do, Yukio? Since you and this old geezer seem to care for one another so much, show me how _close_ you two can really get.”

“What?!” I had to make sure I was hearing him correctly. Surely, he couldn’t mean…

“You’re disgusting! Leave him alone!” Mr. Abe sounded furious. He had every right to be.

“Would you like to know what happened to the last person who questioned me, Yukio? You don’t want to end up like Maiko, do you?”

My stomach immediately drops; Maiko was one of the missing victims. I had my suspicions that Hiro could be the cause of some of the disappearances over the past six months, but I think that statement just confirmed it… I swallow the lump that began to form in my throat and proceeded to unfasten Mr. Abe’s pants.

“Yukio, stop it! What are you doing?!” He started kicking at me this time around.

“Please…! Please, stop…”

I finish unfastening his pants and I slowly stuck my hand down them. I grabbed hold of that part of him that I never thought I’d encounter, pulled it out, and just stupidly stared at it for a moment or so.

“Yukio, think about this… You don’t want to do this.” The more Mr. Abe spoke, the more nervous I became. I just wanted him to shut up.

“He doesn’t _want_ to do it… But, he’ll do it because I said so. Isn’t that right, my dear?” Hiro decided to chime in.

I was stalling for long enough; I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and put Mr. Abe into my mouth. The taste was awful; the urge to vomit was growing stronger with each passing moment. I could feel Mr. Abe squirm around, making things even harder for me. I try my best to maintain my composure. This was extremely humiliating for the both of us. Suddenly, I feel something odd from behind me; Hiro had stuck his hand down the back of my pants and I could feel two of his fingers inside of me.

“Don’t mind me, my dear. Just keep going.” His angry tone had disappeared and was replaced with a sadistically teasing one.

“You’re sick! You’re a sick son of a bitch!” Mr. Abe shouted in complete disgust.

“Oh, really? I suggest you save the attitude, old man. _I’m_ not the one who’s getting hard right now.”

Hiro was right; I could feel Mr. Abe becoming more and more erect by the minute. I just wish he hadn’t pointed that out…

“Shut up… Shut up!”

Mr. Abe had enough of Hiro’s mind games. He kicked me really hard in the leg, causing me to stop what I was doing. Hiro immediately got up and slammed his foot onto Mr. Abe’s neck; much like the same way he did to me when I first came here. Only this time around, I didn’t try to stop him. Hiro noticed me just standing there and decided to stop. He walked over to me and pulled me into an embrace.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a loving manner.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I honestly didn’t blame Mr. Abe for what he did. What else could he have done?

Hiro gave me a kiss on the forehead and turned to Mr. Abe, his arm around my waist now, “Shame on you, old man. Is that any way to treat one of your students?”

“Shut the hell up, you disgusting bastard!” Mr. Abe was shaking with anger.

“Admit it, old man; you knew you enjoyed it. Hell, you’ve probably wanted this for a while.”

“What?!” Mr. Abe’s face was red with frustration and outrage with that accusation. But, what did Hiro mean by that…?

“Actually,” he said as he walked over to him, “you were probably wishing it was Sachiko instead of Yukio, didn’t you?”

“What?!” This time, I was the one who shouted in surprise.

“Oh, you didn’t know? Apparently, Mr. Abe had a favorite student in his class. Isn’t that right?”

“What are you talking about?! I would never touch Sachiko, or any one of my students!”

“That’s not what she told me.”

“She told you that?” At first, my curiosity was piqued. Now, he had my full attention.

“Indeed, she did. I asked her if she had been with anyone else before me; she wouldn’t tell me a word. I left it alone at first, but my curiosity got the best of me. I convinced her to tell me what happened, and then… She just spilled everything.”

“Mr. Abe…” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t want to believe what he was saying, but…

“Yukio, don’t listen to him! It’s not true!”

“I know what she told me, old man.”

“Mr. Abe… How could you?” I couldn’t hold back the tears, nor the pain in my voice.

“Yukio—”

“How could you do that to her?! Sachiko wouldn’t just make that up!”

“He’s right, you know? Sachiko was a good girl; she’d have no reason to make that up.”

“Shut up! Yukio, listen to me; are you really going to believe him? Look at what he’s done to you!”

“He knows what I’ve done,” Hiro says as he stands up and walks over to me, placing his arm around my shoulder. “But, he knows Sachiko. And Sachiko’s word is a lot more credible than yours.”

I was shaking with so much anger and hatred towards this man. Just looking at him disgusted me. I thought I could trust Mr. Abe…

Hiro pushed my hair from in front of my face and gave me a kiss on my temple, “Let it out, my dear. Don’t let him get away with this.”

He takes his arm from around my shoulder and I immediately rushed over to Mr. Abe and start attacking him. I stomp on his ribs, claw at any place on his body that I could, and take extra measure to bring him pain in between his legs. I honestly don’t know what was coming over me, but my only goal was to bring this man as much pain as I possibly could.

“Yukio, please! Stop! Please!”

No matter how much he begged for mercy, I wasn’t going to give it to him. I take a lesson from Hiro and pressed my foot against his throat, putting as much pressure as I could. I didn’t let go until his face turned blue and there were tears coming down his face.

I heard Hiro walk towards us and he then crouched down to Mr. Abe’s level. He pulled out a pocket knife and twirled it around on his finger.

“I have an idea, Yukio.”

He gestured me to come next to him, and so I did. He handed me the knife and moved my hands towards Mr. Abe’s stomach. He took my hands into mine and together, we began tracing circles on his stomach. We started with a fairly large circle at first, making sure the blade dug deep into his skin; we wanted there to be blood. We traced smaller circles inside the large circle, essentially making a target on his stomach. He was yelling and whimpering in pain, but neither one of us paid him any attention.

Then Hiro took Mr. Abe’s shirt, cut off the sleeve with the knife, and tied it around his mouth. After doing so, he handed me the knife once more and held me close to him.

“You know what to do, my dear.”

He kisses me on the cheek and got up to leave. My eyes never leave the target as I hear him walk up the stairs. I hear the door close and now the only sounds in the room were Mr. Abe’s fearful whimpers. I finally look up into his eyes and I could finally the pain and desperation in his eyes.

“How could you do that to her, Mr. Abe?” I asked in a desperate tone myself; I just had to know.

He just violently shook his head in denial, but I just found it hard to believe that Sachiko would lie about something like this. I know what Hiro had done to her was unforgivable, but the fact that Mr. Abe had hurt her before Hiro ever did… I wanted to take Mr. Abe’s word for it, but I knownSachiko would never lie about that…

I couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore. I didn’t want to look him in the eyes anymore. I tightly hold onto the knife and slowly lift it up. But as soon as Mr. Abe became frantic, I start to lose my nerve. I “knew what to do” but I wasn’t sure if I was able to. As much as I wanted Mr. Abe to suffer, I wasn’t sure if I was able to make that happen.

Finally, I let my nerves get the best of me and I place my hands down. When my hands went down, I just dropped on my knees and hid my face in the palms of my hands, crying. My mind was racing so much, I had no idea what to believe anymore.

Then, I hear the upstairs door open and Hiro coming down. He walks towards me and places a hand on my shoulder.

“Why don’t you head upstairs, my dear?” He helps me to my feet and walks me over to the stairs. Before I went upstairs, he whispers in my ear, “Would you like me to handle it?”

All I could do was nod my head. I didn’t even look at him when I answered; I just needed to leave this room. I just go upstairs and headed straight to the bedroom. I close the door behind me, go over to the bed, and just collapsed. I buried my face in the pillow and started crying some more. I wasn’t sure how long Hiro was going to take with Mr. Abe, so I just decided to try and sleep. I just hope Hiro would “handle” him soon; I don’t want to think about this anymore…

 

After everything that’s happened today, it felt a bit comforted to be woken up by being pulled into an embrace. Instinctively, I held onto Hiro as tightly as I could. He rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m trying to be.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about Mr. Abe anymore; I can assure you that.”

“Did you…” Even though the answer was plainly obvious, I just wanted the confirmation anyway.

“Don’t worry about it. You just sit here; I’m going to make dinner, okay?”

“Okay.” He kisses my forehead and gets up to head to the kitchen. But, there was just something I needed to get off of my mind. “Wait…”

“What’s up?”

“Did Sachiko really tell you that happened to her? What exactly did she tell you?”

He just stared at me for a moment, and then chuckled. “What do you think she told me?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you. I mean, I know whatever she told you couldn’t have been good, but…”

“Well, whatever she told me, you know that it’s not something that she’d lie about, right?”

“Right…”

Something tells me he wasn’t going to give me any more information, so I just laid back down on the bed. But, just before I could try to calm my nerves, Hiro said something to me that sent chills down my spine and anger through my veins.

“But, I can’t say the same for me.”

He walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. To think I believed _him_ more than someone I actually trusted. I let my emotions get the better of me, and now Mr. Abe had to pay the price because of it. The overwhelming amount of guilt I felt was becoming more and more unbearable by the second, and my desire to leave this place, one way or another, grew even stronger.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio heads to the market, upon Hiro's request, and he sees two familiar faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story. We're on chapter 10 now, but I kinda feel like I may be dragging this story a bit; I'm not entirely sure. There are still some plot events that I'd like to touch base on, but I don't want to drag this story on longer than it needs to be. What do you guys think? Feel free to let me know; any and all feedback is welcome! Anyways, happy reading!

I told Hiro that I lost my appetite last night and just went straight to bed. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I potentially got Mr. Abe killed. Now, two deaths loomed over me and the guilt was taking its toll. I didn’t even have the energy to cry about it anymore. What was the point? It’s not going to change anything, no matter how much I wanted it to.

I get out of bed and walk into the empty living room. I just stood there for a moment and looked around; it was still a bit hard for me to believe that someone who seemed so normal was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I guess it’s true what they say; never trust a book by its cover.

I make myself a bowl of cereal, head to the couch, and turned on the television. I put on some dumb cartoons to try avoiding turning to the news channel. I wasn’t sure if word had come out about Mr. Abe yet, but I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to know. I didn’t want to think about Mr. Abe anymore; it was already taxing on my mind to feel guilty about his death.

But, there was another emotion that was taking my energy away; anger. Why would Hiro lie about something like that, and about Sachiko, no less? He knew how much I cared for her, if it wasn’t obvious the first day I was here. But the more I thought about it, I’ve come to suspect that he knew exactly what he was doing. Hiro seems like the type of person who knows exactly how to get his way, and he’ll play every dirty trick in the book to do so. Even if that meant further manipulating a broken someone like me…

As I set my bowl down on the coffee table, I noticed a piece of paper with some money next to it. I pick it up and read the note.

_“Yukio, I need you to head to the market about a block from here. Here’s a list of things I need you to get for me. Feel free to keep the change. –Hiro.”_

What the hell was wrong with this guy? Why doesn’t he do these things himself? I give a huge sigh of frustration and head back to the bedroom to get some clothes to change into. I take my shower, changed my clothes, and headed out the door. I made sure to put on the baseball cap and face mask that was left for me; even though I’d like to be recognized by someone, it was also stressful to think about.

He lived in a pretty decent neighborhood; it was clean, the people got along with each other, and it wasn’t all that loud. No wonder he doesn’t seem suspicious to anyone around here; they all act friendly towards another. It was almost unsettling. The calm pace I was going quickly turned into a brisk walk over to the market.

On my way, I couldn’t help but to notice the fliers around the neighborhood. They all had my face plastered on them with “missing” written in bold, capital letters. I take a flier off of a lamppost and just stare at it; it was hard to believe that the person whose face I was looking at once belonged to me. Even though I’ve only been gone for two days, my life has already changed so drastically.

I ball up the paper and tossed it in the garbage can nearby. I couldn’t look at that photo without feeling sick to my stomach. It was self-frustration, guilt, and anger mixed all together, and it wasn’t a good feeling to have.

I finally make it to the market. I pulled out the list from my pocket, grabbed a cart, and headed to the first aisle. I tried my best to stay unnoticed by the people in each aisle I went into. I was a bit paranoid that someone might recognize me; there were a few of those fliers on the store’s front windows.

I quickly get all the things on the list and head to the checkout line. I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible; I hate being in public places by myself and I didn’t need the extra anxiety today. I hurriedly placed my items onto the counter and waited for the cashier to ring all of them up. I fumble to get the money out of my pocket just so that I can have it ready to go when I have to pay.

“Hey there, Mrs. Takano.”

I nearly freeze as the sound of an all too familiar voice echoes in my ears. I slowly turn my head to my left to see if my ears were playing tricks on me. But as soon as I saw who was there, I drop everything in my hands in shock.

“Hi, Megumi. Kouta. How can I help you?”

“Hey…” The word escapes my mouth in a soft whisper.

“We were wondering if you’ve heard anything new yet.” I nearly shed tears after hearing Megumi’s warm, gentle voice.

“No, I haven’t heard anything yet. I’m always asking the customers, and no one’s heard anything. But, I’ll let you know if something turns up.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Takano.” I’ve missed hearing my best friend’s voice; his voice was just as pleasant to hear.

Megumi gives a disappointed sigh as the two of them walk out of the store. I watched them as they left, unable to move my feet. I felt the sudden urge to run over to them and let them know that I’m okay, but something within me didn’t want my feet to move.

“Sir? Sir, are you alright?” the cashier asked as he picked up the money I dropped.

I couldn’t say or do anything; I just wanted run to my friends. I had every opportunity to leave with them and go home, but something was telling me not to and I was becoming more and more frustrated with myself.

_“He’s not here to stop me. He doesn’t know where I live. There’s nothing stopping you; just go!”_

I couldn’t take it anymore; I refused to live with any more self-hatred over missed opportunities. I practically shove the cashier on the floor as I sprint out the doors. I frantically look to see which direction they went and ran to my right. Luckily, they haven’t gotten far.

“Kouta! Megumi! Hey!”

They both turn around and the look on their faces told me they were just as surprised when they saw me.

“Yukio!”

Megumi’s scream practically echoed as she and Kouta dash towards me. She nearly tackles me as she and I collide in an embrace. Kouta joins in on the hug. Naturally, we all stood there and cried over our reunion.

“Thank god, you’re alright!” Megumi says in a teary, yet relieved voice.

“We were so worried about you, dude!” Kouta says in the same manner.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry!” Those words were the only ones I could say.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Yukio. We’re just glad you’re safe!” Megumi hugged me even tighter and could no longer contain her sobs.

“Hey, we should go tell your parents; they told us to meet them at the convenience store right around the corner,” Kouta suggested. I nodded my head in agreement and the three of us walked over to the convenience store together. The amount of happiness I was feeling was indescribable; I just couldn’t wait to head back home with my family and friends.

 

It was later that evening and my parents had invited Kouta, his dad, Megumi, and her family over for dinner to celebrate my return home. I changed into clothes that I was more comfortable wearing and for once in these past couple days, I was able to genuinely put a smile on my face. It felt incredible to be home with my friends and family.

The general atmosphere of the gathering was pleasant and I couldn’t be happier. Although no one asked about where I had been or anything like that, I think it was best to leave that topic out of conversation.

“Hey, Yukio. I bought a new video game yesterday. I hadn’t opened it yet, so maybe we can play it together tomorrow after school or something,” Kouta suggested.

“Sure, I’d like that.” It’d be nice to bring some normality back into my life. And what better way to do that than to spend some time with my best friend?

“Can I join?” Megumi asked. She sounded a bit offended that she wasn’t included.

“You want to come over?” Kouta and I look at each other in a bit of confusion. “You never really hang out with us after school.”

“Yeah, well… I want to start. Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not at all. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Cool!” It was probably going to take some getting used to having Megumi over, but it’ll be a nice change to have.

Then, the house phone rings. I offered to answer it, so I walked to the living room to do so. Once I saw the number on the caller ID, my stomach starts twisting into knots. It was my cell phone number. For a second, I thought it was odd that my cell phone would be calling the house when I’m already home. But then, I remember the last place I had it.

With shaky hands, I pick up the phone and answer it. “What do you want?” I made sure to keep my voice low so no one else could hear me.

_“Where the fuck are you?”_

“Please, just leave me alone,” I pleaded in a desperate voice.

_“Don’t make me repeat myself, Yukio.”_ He sounded absolutely livid.

“Look, I promise I won’t tell anyone what happened. Please, just leave me alone!” My voice raised a bit given the state of panic I was falling into.

“Yukio, is everything alright?” my mom asked from the dining room.

“Please, I’m serious; I promise I won’t tell anyone. I promise!”

It was silent for a moment. Then, I hear him laugh a bit. _“You must think I’m some sort of idiot. If I can’t trust you to do a simple task like going to the store, what makes you think I can take your word on this?”_

“Hiro, please…” I was on the verge of tears. I had to take a seat on the couch because I was losing strength to keep my composure.

“Don’t think I won’t find you, Yukio. Because when I do, I’ll make sure you won’t be the only one who’ll pay for this.”

“Please, just stop!”

_“Your mother, your father… Kouta and Megumi… They’ll all end up like the others, my dear.”_

At this point, nearly everyone had come into the living room to see if I was alright. Megumi sat next to me on the couch and my dad was kneeling in front of me.

“Yukio, what’s wrong? Who’s on the phone?” he asked.

_“Go ahead. Tell them who’s on the phone, Yukio.”_ It was as if he was daring me to tell them. He knew that I wouldn’t, so I just kept silent.

“Yukio, is something the matter? You can tell us, sweetheart,” my mother said as she sat on the other side of me.

_“I want you to meet me by your school. If I don’t see you there, then I’m coming to you.”_ He hangs up and the dial tone sounds. I pressed the end call button and slowly stood up.

“I need some fresh air…” It was obvious that something was off with me, so my friends followed me outside.

“Yukio, who was that on the phone?” Kouta asked in a concerned tone.

“I can’t tell you…”

“What do you mean you can’t tell us?”

“I can’t tell you, so leave me alone!” I yelled in frustration; even when I’m in the safety of my own home, I can’t get away from him.

“Yukio, you’re scaring us…” Megumi said in an even more concerned tone.

I wanted to tell them not to worry, but it’d be pointless. But, just as I was about to say something else, I hear a car slow down. All three of us turn to our left and I yelled almost immediately. As if acting on instinct, I make a run for it.

“Yukio, where are you going?!” Megumi calls out. I hear the both of them run after me, and that’s the thing I couldn’t let happen.

“Stop! Don’t follow me!”

“What’s going on, Yukio? Where are you going?” Kouta’s tone of concern quickly turned to one of frustration; he hated when I wasn’t direct with things.

“Please, just don’t follow me. I’ll… I’ll be back, I promise.”

I knew that was a lie, but I didn’t know what else to tell them. I had to keep them safe. As soon as I was sure I wasn’t going to be followed, I continue my dash to the school. I completely forgot that there was a route to the school where you could pass my house; but what are the chances that he would take _that_ route?!

What would’ve usually taken me about ten minutes to get to school, I got there in about half that time. I look around the area, trying to find Hiro’s car. I was surprised to see that I beat him here, but it wasn’t long before I heard his car pull up. As soon as I turn around, he gets out of his car and charges towards me. He grabs both my wrists and squeezed down on them, shaking me violently as well.

“You’re such a fucking brat; did you really think I wasn’t going to notice you were gone?!” I’ve never heard him yell like this before. _This_ was the most intimidating he’s ever been towards me.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” As soon as those words left my lips, a hard backhanded slap was the response I got.

“You’ll be sorry, alright. Get in the fucking car.”

He finally lets go of my wrists and I just stare at the imprints his hands left behind. He walks over to the car and opens the passenger door. Without hesitation, I get inside and he slams the door shut. As he walks over to the driver’s side, I take a look out of the side mirror and see Kouta and Megumi walking up. I notice Hiro looking in their direction and then back to me. I frantically shake my head as a plea to leave them be, but a sadistic smile just grew on his face.

“Excuse me, sir,” I hear Megumi say, “Have you seen our friend? He’s about his height, black hair that comes to his shoulders; he was wearing a blue jacket and denim jeans.”

“Hmm… I can’t say that I have. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, okay… Well, thanks anyway.”

“No problem. I hope you find him.”

“Thank you.”

They were about to walk past the side I was in, so I had to think of a way to hide my face. I frantically look around in the car in the mere seconds I had to do so. I eventually gave up and put my jacket over my face and pretended I was asleep. I didn’t know if they noticed me, but I heard Hiro get into the car and start it. I waited a couple of moments before taking off the jacket, and once the coast was clear, we were on our way back to Hiro’s place.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when he thought he was finally free from Hiro, Yukio finds his way back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just want to start off by apologizing for this really late update to the story! I hope none of you thought I had given up on it. It's just that with school and other distractions in my life, I found it very hard to find time and energy to work on this story. But luckily, I have a couple of days off from school, and I plan to do some writing over the weekend. This story isn't over yet, so I will be finishing it! Again, I'm sorry for the inactivity, and I promise I will finish this story. Thank you for your patience, and happy reading!

It seemed like it didn’t take us long to get back to his place. He wouldn’t let me walk on my own; he had a firm, painful grip on my upper arm as we walked together into the building. I didn’t bother saying anything to him on the way here; I knew better than that now. We head to apartment 4A and I wait for him to open the door. But, he hadn’t pulled out his keys for some reason.

He turned his head towards me and looked me up and down, “I know I’ve said this before; plenty of times, actually. But you’re such a fucking brat, you know that?”

His condescending tone was really getting irritating. The whole ride here, all he would do was look at me for a moment and called me a “fucking brat” under his breath. It was as if he was an exhausted parent who was tired of dealing with a disobedient child; it was getting on my nerves.

Finally, he pulls out his keys and unlocks the door. He shoves me inside and follows right behind me, locking the door behind him. Almost instinctively, I made my way to the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“What do you mean where am I going? Where does it look like I’m going?”

“Is that an attitude in your voice?” At this point, I knew he was trying to scare me. But given everything I’ve been through with him, I’ve reached my limit.

“No, it’s not an attitude. I’ve given up with you. I know you’re going to do something to me, so quit wasting time and get it over with!” For the first time I’ve been with him, he had a look of genuine shock on his face. But, I couldn’t care less. “I’m here with you now, and you’ve made it obvious that I’m never leaving, so get on with it already!”

“Do you really think yelling at me is going to help you here?”

“The only thing that’ll help me is if you put a bullet through my brain and leave me in a ditch, because I’d rather be dead than be anywhere near you!”

Silence. No one said a word after that. He just looked at me with a look of confusion and I looked at him with the most serious of faces. I wasn’t going to tolerate any of his bullshit anymore, and I wanted to make that known to him. But I had a gut feeling that he wasn’t taking me seriously.

“You know, you had that same face the first time we met. I find it rather adorable now more than anything.”

It was infuriating how lightly he took my words, but what else could I do about it? If he’s not going to take me seriously now, he never will. At that point, I just decided to give up and walk into the bedroom. I hear him walk behind me, but he stopped at the doorway.

“That’s it? You’re not going to say anything else?” I didn’t say a word and just sat on the bed. “You’re seriously not going to say anything else?”

All I did was look up at him in silence. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a response; he never deserved that much from me in the first place. But I began to notice something. It was as though the longer I stayed quiet, the more frustrated he became. I could see it on his face, but I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“C’mon, say something. You’re just going to give up like that?” He walked closer and stood over me in an “intimidating” manner. “Where’s that attitude you had earlier, huh? It went away _that_ quickly?”

I just stared at him. I wanted to see how far I could go with this. It was actually a bit entertaining to me to see him so upset.

He grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and shook me a bit, “Don’t just ignore me, you fucking brat! Say something!”

I couldn’t keep my composure anymore and just chuckled a bit. To see him get worked up like this was too satisfying. Finally, he snapped; he shoved me onto the bed and immediately got on top of me. He began taking out his anger by punching me repeatedly in the face. I didn’t even try to defend myself, and I think that made him even angrier.

Finally, he got off of me and just stood there. I could feel him seething with rage. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why aren’t you doing anything?!”

My laughter became a bit of a natural response at this point. The more I laughed, the angrier he got. But then, he began to take deep breaths and calm down and took a moment to gather himself. Then, without saying a word, he turned and walked out the room, slamming the door behind him. To be quite honest, I didn’t expect him to just walk away, but I wasn’t going to question it.

I got up and walked over to the bathroom to clean up my face; I could feel the blood coming from my nose. As I walked over, Hiro was just sitting on the couch, staring at the blank screen on the television. I paid him no mind and just kept going. Once I got myself cleaned up, I walked back over to the bedroom. But just seeing him sit there in complete silence had me curious to what was on his mind.

I had a feeling I was going to regret this later, but I make a detour to the couch and sat down next to him. He never bothered looking in my direction, but I could feel the tension rising just by me being around him.

“Did I hit a nerve?” I couldn’t help but to ask in a bit of a condescending manner. Some sick part of me was enjoying this.

“You have five seconds to get away from me, and this is me being generous.”

“C’mon, you can’t be _that_ mad.”

“Five…”

“You’ve already beat the hell out of me.”

“Four…”

“You’re just going to let some kid push you around like that?”

“Three…”

“Face it, Hiro; I’m not scared of you anymore.”

“Two…”

“You have no power over me anymore.”

He stopped his counting and slowly turned to look at me. “You sure about that?” He turned his body more towards me and folded his arms. “Look me dead in the eyes and say that to me again.”

I even took that request a step farther and leaned in closer to him, “You have no power over me anymore.”

“Then, why are you here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“If I have no power over you, then why are you here with me instead of home with your family? Hmm?”

I was taken aback by this sudden question, but I tried to find some way to answer it. “Well… I…uh…”

“You didn’t have to come back with me. You did that out of your own volition.” I could hear his confidence come back in his voice, which was something I didn’t want to happen.

“You… You threatened my family. You said you’d find where I lived and hurt everyone if I didn’t come back with you.”

“As if I knew where you lived, dumbass! Did you really think I was actually going to take all that time to find out where you lived? I have better things to do with my time.” This time, it was his turn to laugh at me and my frustration.

“You want to know the funny part? I drive past your house all the time to get home. I never knew it was your house until I saw you outside. Hell, it may not even be your house; you may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

My stomach dropped. All this time…he was bluffing this whole time. I couldn’t believe I let him get to me like this. I was home… I was finally home! I feel his hand cup my face and lift it up to look at him with my teary eyes.

“I find it very cute when people think they’ve gotten the best of me. But you… You’re different.”

“Different?”

“Yes, different. Usually when people act bold, they’re doing it to try and intimidate me. But you… You did it to fuck with me. It was as if you enjoyed seeing me _‘upset’_. I honestly thought you were coming over here to apologize, but no. You tried to take it a bit further. Even when I was counting down, you kept going. I won’t lie to you; it actually turned me on seeing you act tough.” He pulls my face closer to his and tried to kiss me.

“Get off of me!” I yell as I shove him away. I shot up and rushed straight to the bedroom; I could hear him follow behind me.

“Aww, what’s the matter? Don’t act like such a baby now, Yukio. Like you said before, you’re not scared of me anymore.” Realizing he had me trapped, he grabs me and slams me onto the bed, immediately getting on top of me. “C’mon, show me how much you’re not afraid of me anymore.”

He holds my face still and practically shoves his tongue down my throat. I tried to fight back, but eventually, I’ve decided against it. It was pointless; no matter what I did, he would always find some way to get the better of me. He stopped kissing me for a moment and stared down at me.

“That’s what I thought. Now, don’t make this harder than it already has to be. Just be a good boy for me, okay?”

I nod in resignation and he continues on. All I could do was lie there and accept defeat. In this moment, I had to come to terms with being unable to see my family and friends again. I also had to accept the fact that I’ll either end up being Hiro’s personal plaything for the rest of my life, or face the same fate that Sachiko and countless others have.


	12. Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hiro leaves for work, Yukio takes this time to do some digging around to find something damning for Hiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! I've come with a gift! Thank you all for being so patient with my inconsistent updating on this story! I've been meaning to get back with this for so long. Now that I have time, I can finally work on it. However, I feel the end nearing for this story. I may or may not finish it today, but we'll see. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy reading, and have a great holiday! (^-^)

It was the next morning and I woke up early to make breakfast for Hiro and myself. He let me know after my return that things were going to be much different than the first time I ever came here, and one way to start was to act like some sort of housewife; cook meals, do some cleaning. Things like that. I guess this was a part of the punishment that I had to receive for leaving. He already executed part of that punishment last night.

I hear him come out from the bedroom and make his way over to me. He stands behind me and pulls me in by my waist. I couldn’t help but to wince since my body was still in so much pain from last night.

“Good morning, my dear,” he sweetly whispers into my ear.

“Good morning.”

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Bacon and eggs. It was the only thing I knew how to make that was in the fridge.”

“That’s fine,” he says before giving me kisses on my bruised cheek and neck. I took a look at my body in the bathroom when I woke up, and it was as if there _wasn’t_ a place that had any sort of blemish on it.

“You can sit down if you want. I’m almost done.”

“I could… but,” I could feel one of his hands travel down in between my legs. It was obvious he had other plans in mind. “I have a taste for something else right now…”

He walks me over to the dining table and shoves the plates and other silverware off the table. He slams me onto the table, causing me to yell in severe pain. He practically rips the oversized T-shirt that I was wearing off of my body and begins to kiss my anywhere he deemed fit. He went from my lips to my cheek to my collarbone; there wasn’t a place he wouldn’t plant his lips. I found no use to try and fight back. The only thing I did that even resembled being uncomfortable was whimper in pain.

I didn’t even have the strength to cry. What would be the point of shedding tears if there’s no way out of this situation? It frustrates me to even think about how final this all seemed to be. Nevertheless, I just had to lie here and accept it all. What else was there to do?

However, Hiro stopped what he was doing and looked down at me. “What’s the matter with you?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” I quietly said before pulling him back in for another kiss. But for some reason, he pulled away.

“You know, it’s not as fun when you’re acting all sad. I take it you’re not in the mood?”

As if he cared whether or not I was “in the mood”. I just shook my head and he stood up, backing away a bit. I put the T-shirt back on and continued fixing up plates for breakfast. There was an obvious tension between us, but for the most part, it seems one-sided. A part of me thinks that he’s totally fine with how things are. It wouldn’t surprise me, in all honesty.

He helps clean up the mess he made and takes a seat at the table. I place his food and coffee in front of him and took my food over to the couch in the living room. I didn’t want to be around him if I didn’t necessarily have to. Judging from Hiro remaining in his seat, I guess he got the message.

After a while, Hiro gets ready to head out for the day. I take that time to wash the dishes. Neither of us say a word to each other during this time, which I can appreciate. Finally, once I was done with the dishes, Hiro was about to head out the door. Before he left, he stood at the door and gave me a bit of a stern look.

“When I come back, you better have a more chipper attitude. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good boy. Give me a kiss; I got to go.”

I walk over to the door and went to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turned his head and I ended up kissing his lips instead. It wasn’t a long one, thankfully. He takes his jacket and leaves, locking the door behind him. I head back over to the living room, sit on the couch, and turn on the television. I turn it to some random channel and let it play in the background as I read one of the magazines on the coffee table.

It still baffled me a bit how someone as sociopathic as Hiro manages to live a seemingly normal life. His apartment seemed ordinary, he works a normal office job; but I guess that would be the definition of sociopathy, right? Everything about him is nothing but a façade; it’s how he gets his way. And he does it well. He even got me to come back here when I didn’t necessarily have to.

But just because he may be cunning, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some sort of weakness. He thrives off of being in control, finding pleasure in seeing others suffer. He knows how to pick people apart and push all their buttons. But my question is… what makes him tick?

I was just dying to find out, so I began my search around the apartment. I looked in the bedroom first. I checked his drawers, his closet, even under his bed. All I found were clothes, junk mail, and other meaningless things.

Next was the living room. Not really a place you could hide anything crucial, but it doesn’t hurt to look. I look through all the books he had, I checked underneath the couch, and made my way to the kitchen. I looked inside cabinets and the pantry. Nothing. So I headed to the bathroom and went directly to the medicine cabinet. Surely there was something incriminating in there. But unfortunately, there wasn’t anything useful.

Only one other place I could bother to check; the basement. It seemed kind of odd that he had a basement in an apartment building. But, I guess living on the ground floor makes that possible. I head down the stairs and turned on the light. It was a bit cold down here, and the odor was a bit intolerable. I covered my nose with my hand and moved forward.

There were a lot of boxes down here, so I had plenty of options to start with. I open one box and there was nothing but clothes. I open another one, more clothes. But the more boxes I went through, I start to realize that a lot of these clothes were women’s clothes. I check more boxes and find more women’s clothing. They look like young women’s clothing.

It really confused me that he would have all of these women’s clothes in the basement. There were also a couple of boxes with men’s clothes, but they obviously weren’t Hiro’s. Finally, I check one last box and I see a shirt that I immediately recognized; it was a band T-shirt that I got Sachiko for her birthday last year.

Suddenly, it dawned on me: these are all the missing victims’ clothing. It was like this bastard kept them all as some sort of trophies. I dig through the box some more and eventually, I find the shirt that Sachiko was wearing the night Hiro stabbed her. An intense pain started forming inside my chest and tears began streaming down my face. But not out of sadness, but out of pure rage.

But my rage subsided a bit and it gradually became confusion. Why would Hiro just leave these here? I don’t think he’d want me or anyone else having access to these, but yet, they’re just out in the open. It’s not like him to do something as reckless as this, but maybe I could use this to my advantage. It was probably going to take a while, but I had a mission in mind.

It was going to take a bit of effort, but I think I had time to pull it off. I rush upstairs to find some tape. I managed to find a roll of duct tape in the bedroom and I rush back downstairs and sealed a couple of boxes. I take them upstairs and sat them next to the coffee table. I needed a pen and some paper to write a note. Once I got all of that done, I threw on some clothes, picked up the boxes with the note in my pocket, and headed out the door.

I had a bit of a walk ahead of me and not much time to execute this plan, so I walked as fast as I could to my destination. With each step, I took the time to check my surroundings just in case I run into Hiro. Luckily, there were no signs of him anywhere. I just had a little bit more to walk. Nothing was going to stop me from doing what I need to do.

Finally, I made it to where I needed to go. Or at least a few feet from it. I’ve never personally went to the police station before; I’ve never even passed it on my way someplace. Just being in the presence of this building was intimidating. So intimidating that it actually made me a bit nervous to go inside. I begin taking shaky steps towards the building.

_“What the hell are you doing?! Hiro’s going to kill you if he finds out about this!”_ Just the thought of Hiro’s reaction if he’d ever find out about what I was planning to do was terrifying.

_“Don’t do this. You’re seriously going to get into huge trouble if you go through with this. Turn around! Go home!”_

I stop dead in my tracks. My stomach was practically doing backflips from all the tension. What was I doing? Was this really going to work? What if this isn’t enough evidence for them to do anything about this? Even when I thought I had the upper hand, I could already feel the sense of defeat within me. I can’t do this. There’s just no way I could do this. I take a few steps back and then turn around to make my leave.

“Excuse me!”

I pause and turn around to find a police officer walking my way. I begin to panic inside and I’d become paralyzed with fear.

“I couldn’t help but to notice you standing here when I walked out. Is everything alright?”

I try my best to swallow the lump that formed in my throat and spoke softly. “Yes… Everything’s fine.”

“Do you mind telling me what these boxes are for?”

I had no idea what to tell her. I knew she probably doesn’t mean any harm, but I don’t want her to accuse me of anything. “Umm… I just found these on my doorstep. I… I don’t know who they belong to, so I wanted to bring them here… Maybe you could… take them off my hands…”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll make sure whatever’s inside gets returned to its proper place. Thank you for coming to us.” She takes the boxes from my hands and gives me a friendly smile.

“N-no, thank you!”

Before she even had time to respond, I sprinted back home. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and I felt a great deal of vindication not only for myself, but for Sachiko and every other victim that Hiro’s taken away from their loved ones. It was only a matter of time before Hiro gets his just desserts and for justice to come for myself, Sachiko, and the others.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiro gets home from work and things between he and Yukio heat up once again.

I’ve been home alone for a few hours, and all I’ve done was pace around the living room. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that could’ve happened since I gave those boxes to the police officer earlier today. I made sure to give her the box with Sachiko’s shirt so that hopefully they could arrest Hiro. But hours had passed and Hiro was going to be home any minute. I head over to the couch and turned on the television.

As soon as I found a decent channel to leave it on, I hear the door open. He sets his keys down and walks towards me. I look up at him and see a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“I saw these and I figured it’ll help you feel better. Can’t say I didn’t think of you.”

“Thank you…” I take the flowers from him with shaky hands and he sits next to me.

“And you don’t have to worry about dinner. I’ll cook tonight, okay?” His voice sounded so sincere as he gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Listen, we need to talk for a moment.”

“Okay… What about?”

“About us.”

Immediately, my mind begins conjuring up so many scenarios, and none of them end well for me. “What do you mean?”

He gives a deep sigh and takes me hands into his, “I’ve been thinking. I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced someone like you before. You’re stubborn, you can be a brat at times; I honestly don’t know why I even put up with you.”

The more he spoke, the more nervous I became. “Where are you going with all of this?”

“Even with all of that being said… You can still be a good boy,” he says in that sweet voice he had earlier today. “It’s actually amazing how stubborn you can be, but yet… when I tell you jump, you ask how high. Submissive with a bit of resistance. I like it.”

God, this man couldn’t be any more infuriating to be around. Just looking at him with that smug grin on his face pissed me off so much. He was saying all of this because he knows I won’t do anything. And that’s the part that frustrates me the most; the fact that he’s using this against me. In all honesty, I could fight back; I could try my best to get the upper hand, but my experience with him has already proven why that _isn’t_ a good idea.

“What’s the matter? You have a funny look on your face.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.” I get up and walk towards the bedroom. Of course, Hiro follows right behind me.

“Well, what have you been…? What the hell happened in here?” He points out the mess that I never bothered to clean up when I ransacked the place earlier.

“I… I was looking for something. I’m sorry.”

“What could you have possibly been looking for? It’s not like you have much that you actually own in this place. Unless you were looking for your phone.”

“Yeah, you said you had it. Where did you put it?”

“I have it with me. You think I’d be that dumb to just leave it here with you? Come now, Yukio.”

I couldn’t help but to scoff at his words. How could he say something like that after the discovery I made earlier today?

“What was that for?” I guess he noticed.

“Nothing. Don’t you have dinner to make?”

“Here we go with the attitude again. It’s gotten you in trouble before. Do you really want to try it again?”

“No, just…” I’ve gotten to the point where all I could do was laugh again. I tried my best to stop, but the irony of this situation was so laughable.

“Yukio. Do we want another repeat of last night?” He walked closer to me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and squeezed down hard. The pain was enough for me to stop laughing.

“No, just… get off of me!” I slap his hand away and shove him off of me.

“You’re joking, right? We’re really about to do this again, aren’t we?”

As soon as he was prepared to lunge at me, I make a beeline for the door and rush into the living room. He chases after me and now the both of us are running around the place like two mad men. I start picking things up and throwing them at him, but it’s hard to aim properly when you’re trying to run for your life.

I run into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife I saw. I turn around and pointed it at him and held my ground. He put his hands up and stopped right where he was.

“You sure that’s a smart idea?” he asked in a bit of a cocky manner.

“I don’t care. Take one more step, and this is going straight into your gut.” He may have seen this all as some silly game, but I was as serious as I could ever be.

“We both know you’d never hurt me, Yukio. You’re too good of a kid to do that.”

He put on that smug grin again and that was enough to prompt me to lunge at him. He managed to lock up with me and look me dead in the eyes. His face said it all; even when his life is practically being threatened, he doesn’t take me seriously.

Eventually, he manages to twist my arm behind my back and take the knife from me. It didn’t take him long to put it against my neck.

“You know, you never cease to amaze me, my dear. But you shouldn’t play with knives. Someone…” I could feel the blade dig into my skin, “could end up getting hurt.”

He starts to move the knife to the right and I begin to panic. I knew it was only a matter of time before he ended up killing me like the others. Suddenly, it was as if some miracle appeared and knocked on the door.

“Police; open the door.”

Hiro froze where he stood. He pushes me away and looks at me with wide eyes. For the first time I’ve been with him, I could definitely tell that he had a look of genuine concern. He puts the knife in his pocket and covered the handle with his shirt, then made his way to the door.

“Police; is anyone home?” the officer asked as she knocked again. I recognized that voice. It was the officer that I gave the boxes to.

Finally, I hear the door open. “Yes, may I help you?”

“Hiroshi Yamamoto?”

“Yes, that’s me. Is there something the matter?”

“We have a search warrant for your apartment. Do you mind if we come in?”

Hiro says nothing for a moment, but I hear him move aside to let the officers in. He couldn’t tell them no; they had a warrant. The lady officer and two others had come into the apartment and began searching. The lady officer took one look at me and recognized who I was.

“Yukio Kamiya?” She turned back towards Hiro who had a look of panic on his face. “Sir, do you know that Yukio is a missing person? We’ve been looking for him for a while. How long has he been here?”

He just looked at me with so much rage; he was actually shaking a bit from all the anger he was certainly feeling. All he could do was watch as these officers search his apartment. What seemed to make him even angrier was that he had no idea what these officers were even looking for. But something tells me he had a pretty good idea once he saw one of the officers head towards the basement door.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“The warrant covers the entire apartment, sir. Is this the door to the basement?”

“How the hell did you even know I had a basement?! What is going on?!” He became angrier by the second.

“Sir, calm down. We’ve received an anonymous letter stating that there was some evidence regarding some of the missing persons here and it said something about the basement,” the lady officer explained. She gestures the officer by the basement door to go ahead and enter and the third officer followed behind him.

Hiro slowly walks over towards me, but the lady officer steps in between us. “Sir, I’m going to need you to stay right where you are.”

“You fucking brat. You’re dead, do you hear me?” he said in a low, enraged tone.

“Sir, lay a hand on this child, and I’ll put you in handcuffs,” the lady officer warned him.

“Nakamura, you might want to take a look at this.” One of the officers came up with a box and took out a bloody shirt from inside.

“Sir, would you care to explain that down at our precinct?” Officer Nakamura ask as she pulled out handcuffs.

Hiro just takes one last look at me with crazed, livid eyes, “You fucking brat, I’ll kill you!”

Before I even had time to react, he lunges towards me and I feel two, maybe three intense pains in my abdomen; the third pain lasting a lot longer than the first two. Then, as all three officers had gotten a hold of Hiro, I could feel my back hit the wall behind me and the knife lodged into my stomach. I slid onto the floor, holding the place where the knife was.

I see Officer Nakamura rush over and pull out her walkie talkie. “We need a bus! There’s been a stabbing at 477…”

I could feel myself going in and out of consciousness with each passing second. All I could hear were faint yells and loud thuds. I was quickly losing strength and the pain was becoming unbearable.

“Yukio…! Yukio, stay wi… You’re goin…e okay!”

Officer Nakamura’s words kept going in and out and everything around me was getting dark. I had no choice but to succumb to the pain and close my eyes. I could feel Officer Nakamura shake me a little to get me to stay conscious, but the pain was too much.

_“I… set things right… They deserve justice… And I… gave it to them…”_

It was completely dark. I couldn’t hear anything anymore. If I die in this instant, I’ll die knowing that monster won’t hurt anyone else again. I hope everyone will be proud of what I did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yukio wakes up at the hospital, surrounded by his loved ones.

“…wounds were fairly deep. They were near fatal, but— Oh, I think he’s waking up.”

It took a lot for me to open my eyes, but I wake up to bright lights and a white room. I look to my left and right to see blurry faces, but I hear familiar voices.

“Yukio, it’s us!”

“Hey, can you hear us?!”

“Yukio, sweetheart! Are you alright?!”

After a few moments, I could see a lot more clearly and my parents, Kouta, and Megumi were all standing around me. Judging from the heart monitor and the IV in my arm, I was at the hospital.

“Yukio, thank goodness you’re alright!” my mother practically shrieked as she hugged me as tightly as she could.

“Mrs. Kamiya, please be gentle with him. He just got out of surgery,” a doctor sternly requested.

“Surgery? What happened?” I asked in a groggy voice.

“You were stabbed three times in the abdomen,” the doctor began explaining. “There was a lot of internal bleeding; the knife wound nicked a very important artery in your abdomen. If the ambulance hadn’t gotten here when it did… I’m not sure if you would’ve made it. But, here you are. I’ll give you all some privacy. Try not to move a lot, Yukio.”

The doctor gave a nod and left the room. As soon as the door closed, Megumi and my mother broke into tears of relief that I was alive. Kouta placed his hand on my shoulder and my father did the same on the other one. It was extremely relieving to be in the presence of my friends and family. I never thought I’d be able to experience this again in my life, and I became overwhelmed with emotions.

“We’re just glad you’re safe, Yukio,” Megumi tearfully said as she held my hand.

“Yeah, glad to have you back, dude,” Kouta said, trying to hold back the tears.

It was comforting being around people who cared so much about me. I know I must’ve worried them so much when I disappeared for the second time; the first time was already so hard on them. But, even with being in the company of loved ones, there was something I needed to know.

“Did Officer Nakamura come by?”

“No, no police officer had come. Why?” my father asked.

Just as soon as he asked, there was a knock on the door. And as if she heard us talking about her, Officer Nakamura comes into the room with flowers and a get well card.

“Hey there, kiddo. I’m glad to see you’re still with us.” She walks over to us, sits the flowers and card onto the table next to my bed, and pats me on the back.

I couldn’t help but to become overwhelmed with so much gratitude for this wonderful woman, “Thank you so much… Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome, Yukio. We’re just glad that you’re safe and sound.”

“What about Hiro? What’s going to happen to him?”

“Don’t worry, kiddo. He’s going away for a long, long time. He’s not going to hurt your or anyone else ever again.”

With each passing moment, there was more good news to come. But with each bit of good news, I felt a great sense of dread coming along with it. So, I gathered the courage and asked the question.

“Did… did he mention anything about Sachiko?”

The room immediately became dead silent. I’m sure that everyone in this room had been wondering the same thing ever since she disappeared, and only I knew what became of her. For some reason, I needed the validation.

“It took a lot to pull the information about her out of him… but he has confirmed that Sachiko, as well as the other missing victims… are gone. I’m so sorry.”

Megumi screams in disbelief and my father held my mother close to him as she began sobbing. Kouta couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and turned away. I just sat there, feeling completely numb.

I feel Officer Nakamura’s hand on my shoulder, “He told me you were there when it happened. It’s not your fault, Yukio. Please believe me.”

I just looked up at her with teary eyes, “I know… But, I would’ve ended up just like her, Officer. If I hadn’t done what I did, I’d be there with her. But I fought back. I fought back for Sachiko and every other victim. Something no one’s done before. I guess Hiro was right; I was different from the rest. And now Sachiko and everyone else got the justice they deserved. All because I was different.”

I take in this sense of vindication and made sure to show a smile so that everyone knew that things were going to be alright now. There wasn’t going to be any more pain or worry. It was all over, and now all we had to do was learn to cope with our loss and do our best to move forward. It was going to take time, but I’m certain that we can pull through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I just want to thank you for taking the time to read this! I would really appreciate it if you gave some feedback! Tell me parts you like, parts you think needs improvement; things like that! I may take the time later down the road and do some editing, so your feedback is incredibly helpful and appreciated! Thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed! (^-^)


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